


Darkness in Me

by MikaCienfuegos



Series: Creatures of the Night [3]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Lesbian Sex, Lesbian Vampires, Raven is a lesbian, Raven/Female OC, Secrets, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:21:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikaCienfuegos/pseuds/MikaCienfuegos
Summary: The Titans face the sudden appearance of blood-crazed vampires trying to massacre the inhabitants of Jump City. The only solution seems to team up with some unlikely allies that could prove to be as dangerous as the threat they are facing. Meanwhile, Raven has to deal with the darkness sleeping in Mika's heart, and the secrets between them.
Relationships: Raven (DCU)/Original Character(s)
Series: Creatures of the Night [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661047
Kudos: 7





	1. What Nightmares Are Made Of…

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a sequel to "Creatures of the Night" and "Rite of Passage"

Fear.

She could smell the stench of fear crawling down his spine as he ran. His heavy footsteps clanked on the pavement as he recklessly tried to escape; he was a strong, athletic man, but all that running would be for nothing. She was faster. She was stronger. She was the predator… and he was the prey. 

He stopped at a corner gasping for air, before breaking into an old butcher's shop. She liked that. She liked to hear their last breaths. But she liked it even more when her preys picked such a marvelous place for their last resting place.

The place was creepy. It looked like it had not been used in a long time. Long meat hooks hung from the ceiling. Blood tainted the walls and the floor, creating a sinister canvas of gore. 

"I'm not afraid you!" he yelled into the darkness. 

A hearty laughter answered him back. 

"What do you want? I've done nothing to you!"

"No… You could never do anything to me." she answered back as she circled him like a shark from the shadows. "But you've been a very, very bad man. And you've hurt poor, innocent women."

"They were cunts!"

"And that gives you the right to do as you please to them…" implied the melodic voice haunting him. "I guess since you are such a miserable dog, that gives Me the right to do as I please, doesn't it?"

"Who says you'll be able to do anything to me!?" barked the angry man. "Show your face bitch! I'm gonna put you on your knees and stuff my dick into your mouth! You fucking whore! You…"

The man's rant abruptly stopped as he felt a searing pain travel from his crotch to every cell of his body. He turned his face down, and kneeling in front of him was his worst nightmare grinning wickedly at him as she stabbed a knife right into his manhood. He gasped in shock; the pain stripping him of his strength.

"Guess you don't have anything I can put my mouth on now… Oh wait, you do." 

She stood up and grabbed him from the neck to lower his eyes to her level. As fear seeped out from his bloodshot eyes, she elongated her fangs and savored the moment. The mad pumping of his heart drummed on her very core. Her mouth watered, and before he could finish his silent prayers she pierced his jugular.

She could feel every last drop of his life force abandon his body. And as he fell to the ground with a loud thump, and stared lifelessly back at her… she smiled.

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"AAAAAaaaahhhhh!" 

Raven woke up startled. She was alone in her dark room. Sweat dripped down her chest and her forehead. The dark Titan's heart was beating hard in her chest and she was breathing like it was the last gulp of air she would ever take. It had been another nightmare.

“It's not real… just calm down… Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…” 

They had begun a month ago. She had just turn 20 and her life was pretty much perfect, or as perfect as a demon half breed could hope for… 

She was a well respected member of society, both on Earth and on her home dimension. She loved her job; sure it was hard, sometimes even painful, but highly rewarding. She had a loving, and sometimes annoying family; for her teammates were as close as siblings to her as it could get. And she had a charming, wicked hot girlfriend… ok, so she was a blood drinking vampire that only came out at night, but her friends had learned to deal with her darkness, why couldn't she deal with hers.

But love sometimes makes you do stupid things.

Mika had explained once that her blood had regenerative powers and that anyone regularly drinking from it could live young forever, without necessarily becoming a vampire. Ever since then, she had toyed with the idea of one day spending eternity by her side. It was a corny, romantic thought; but she secretly rejoiced in it.

But one thing was the theory; reality was another thing. In one moment of passion, when she had reached the climax, she had done it. Her demonic side had been tempted by eternal youth and she had drunk Mika's blood willingly.

Now she was paying the price for it. That very night after surrendering herself to her passions, the nightmares had begun. They were so real, they were disrupting her mind.

_ Was that me? Am I becoming a vampire? Is that a glimpse of what I will become? Or was that Mika? Were those her memories? Is it just my imagination playing tricks on me?  _

But like every night she had woken up like that, there was no answer. She had kept it to herself all this time, after all, she had not seen Mika in a while. She had gone out of town to her father's mansion in Las Vegas.

The last time she had spoken to her girlfriend on the phone had been two weeks ago. The phone call had been short and emotionless… said she was  _ busy _ … said  _ dad _ wanted her to get a real job so she was working on a  _ project _ . Raven had respected her privacy that moment, but she felt it was now time to confront her. Her  _ Mysterious Me _ act was no longer charming for the empath. 

_ Are you having doubts on her? _ – asked her darker side. –  _ It's only natural… after all; she's an evil being like us… _

"I'm not evil…"

_ Whatever… Just try and talk to her tomorrow… _ \- interrupted her most rational side –  _ if she doesn't answer the phone, just get your butt to Las Vegas and find the answer! _

_ Maybe she didn't even know that could happen… _ \- intervened Love -  _ It didn't happen when we drank her blood the first time after we got injured.  _

Raven sighed. She was an emotional mess and she hated losing her cool.

"I got to figure out what exactly is it that am seeing."

With that in mind she levitated on top of her bed and began to meditate.

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Raven stood on top of Titan's Tower watching the sunrise. It had been a while since she had been up early enough to see it. 

"Well this is a pleasant surprise!"

She turned around to see Dick standing behind her. He was an early riser and was always cheery in the mornings. 

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep; so I figured I'd do something different for a change..."

"Why? Your girlfriend is no longer keeping you awake at night?" mocked Nightwing.

"She hasn't come back from out of town." replied Raven dryly.

They both remained in silence for a while watching the horizon.

"Look Raven… I'm sorry.” he broke the silence and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know we haven't been talking much to each other lately, but I want you to know you can still count on me to tell me anything."

"Thanks… it means a lot." she faintly smiled at him "I know you don't like my girlfriend, but I love her… can't you be a little more patient with her?" 

"It's not that I don't like her…" Raven looked at him in disbelief. "Ok, I really don't like her. She has this badass vampire attitude and a very ambiguous morality code that really gets on my nerves. But that's not what bugs me; I'm afraid that she might break your heart at any minute if she dares slip in her diet." 

"I know…" the empath lowered her head. "Lately, I've been afraid of that too…"

"Why?"

"I don't know… it's just my imagination I guess… I miss her…"

Raven didn't say anything more, and her friend didn't push it. They just remained like that looking at the sun as it emerged to conquer the darkness.

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That night, the alarm on Titan's Tower awoke everyone from their slumber. The team got as fast as they could to the scene where they had been called, only to find themselves confronted with a scene cut out from a  _ Saw _ movie.

They stood frozen in horror at what laid in front of them. It was the drive-in movie theater. It was a Tuesday night and they were suddenly relieved that it was not a very busy night or else the carnage would have been bigger.

Young couple's bodies were thrown out of their cars and ripped into pieces. Blood smeared the car's windshields and the stench of blood and guts filled their nostrils. Changeling couldn't take it and threw up the pizza they had for dinner.

"Titans Go! The culprit might still be around, we have to move fast!"

They didn't have to go too far when they came across a group of 3 men biting on what looked like it had been a young woman. To the Titan's horror they were drinking her blood right from her organs. As soon as they heard the young heroes approach they turned to look at them. The 3 looked pretty much human, except for the sharp fangs protruding from their mouths and the red eyes.

"Vampires…" muttered Raven.

"Alright Titans, bring them down!"

The monsters launched towards the heroes. They proved to be fast and strong. Raven and Cyborg kept one at bay with long range attacks, while Starfire tried to hit another one with her starbolts. Nightwing fought the last one using his baton but he was beginning to lose ground when Changeling came to his aid. He transformed into a pterodactyl and carried his attacker away. But up in the air the monster bit him.

"Aaaarrggg!"

"BB!" Cyborg saw how his best friend fell from the sky with the beast firmly gripping his leg. "Now you asked for it!" 

The metal Titan changed his sonic cannon to a UV light ray. He aimed and shot. Changeling fell to the ground with a loud thump and a burned up creepy crawler attached to his leg. When the monsters turned to look at their fallen comrade they began to flee the scene. 

"You are not going anywhere!" Raven aimed her dark energy and managed to imprison one of them, but the other took off into the woods. The empath cursed under her breath, but instead of giving chase she ran towards her friends to check on their fallen teammate. 

Their youngest friend was unconscious and pale. Nightwing examined him, before finally declaring. "Gar needs medical attention. Star, could you take him to the infirmary wing?" 

The Tamaranean nodded and immediately took him in her arms.

"What about the killers?" asked Raven somberly. "I got one, but the other got away in the confusion."

"Raven you take that one to a containment cell in the Tower, and then help Starfire patch up Changeling. Cyborg and I will hunt down the fugitive." instructed her leader.

The demoness saw both male Titans run off to catch up with the third vampire, while Starfire flew away with Gar. 

She was left alone.

Raven turned around to look at the carnage. Dismembered bodies were lying around, and blood invaded her vision. Her throat went suddenly dry. She knew she should be horrified, grossed, heartbroken, or something… but she wasn't. Her demonic side rejoiced in the scene. She felt like in one of her nightmares…

The police sirens in the distance woke her from her trance. She turned to look at the demon in human flesh that was still trapped by her powers. His face was stained with blood and his clothes were dirty and ragged. His eyes seemed off, crazy and bloodshot. He was the vivid image of a movie monster. 

"You are nothing like Mika… she would never do that… I would never do that."

With that in mind she levitated from the ground and teleported them both back to the Tower.

_ To be continued… _


	2. Between Hero and Villain

_ One Month Ago…  _

Nightwing was working on a top priority case in the Tower's kitchen. He had not been resting well the past week, and sleepiness was beginning to claim his body. He had reached a point in the case where he was stuck and could probably use some rest. 

After all, it was quiet in the Tower; the girls and Changeling were out patrolling, and Cyborg was working on new modifications for the T-Car. He was about to close his laptop to enjoy his peaceful time alone, when the elevator doors opened and an unwelcome voice stepped out.

"Honey I'm Home!" hollered Mika as she walked in. The vampire looked around and noticed he was the only one there, so she approached him, and after a quick inspection, she teased. "Dude you look like shit…"

"Thanks…" he answered dryly. "What are you doing here?"

“Came to see my girlfriend, duh." remarked Mika rudely. 

"She's out patrolling." answered the superhero as he went back to his paperwork.

Mika just shrugged and opened the fridge to take out a blood bag and put it in a coffee cup. She then took a seat at the big couch in the living room, grabbed the remote, and positioned her feet on the coffee table. She turned on the big screen TV and loaded an action movie. The silence that had reigned in Titan's Tower was gone; the sound of gunshots and explosions invaded the common area.

"Can you turn that off? I'm working on something important here…"

"Dude relax… you take your work too seriously. You look like you might use a break."

"I take my work seriously, because it IS a serious matter." spitted back the hero. Even though he was technically about to take a break when she came in, he disliked the fact of being given advice by someone like her.

"Well then go to your room or something. You didn't pick the wisest place to work when the big screen TV is right in front of you." bitched the vampire. She had never liked him much; he was too stiff and righteous for her.

"Well this is MY home you know… Can't you go to your own house and watch TV there? Raven is not here."

"I don't have such a big TV back home… don't be so selfish, you have to learn how to share your space." whined the brunette.

"Mika don't you have anything better you can do besides hang around the Tower like a slob?" wondered Nightwing losing his patience.

"There is no need for name calling Boy Blunder."

"What? Did I offend you? You have eternity to live for and all you do is watch TV, eat your yucky blood bags and snuggle Raven. I really don't see what she sees in you! You perfectly represent all the 7 deadly sins at once!" barked the Titan's leader.

"Hey I was minding my own business here! Just leave me alone!"

"What? No witty retort?" Nightwing was becoming more aggressive with his attacks. The vampire's faint spark of insecurity fueled his rage. "Maybe you actually think I'm right. You have no job. You are a total sloth. You are strong and fast, but you are too proud and greedy to make any good use of it. All you do is indulge in gluttony and lust. You know you are not worthy of dating a super heroine!"

"Raven loves me for who I am." assured the vampire offended.

"Yeah, I bet she just loves that big rack."

Mika had it. He crossed his line. She threw the blood cup at him which he easily dodged and it hit the nearest wall spluttering it with its contents. The vampire felt herself boiling from the inside and the sudden urge to open his throat and drain him of his bravado… but she couldn't. Raven would not approve.

"What's the matter? Not going after my blood vampire?"

"I might not be a hero… but I'm no villain." hissed Mika. And with that she turned around and left the Tower.

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Mikaela the vampire rode her motorcycle at high speed across town. She knew that if she ran into the police she would get pulled off for reckless driving but she didn't care. She was too pissed to care about that. If her heart could beat it would be pumping with adrenaline right now.

"Okay sure, you've been indulging in your own pleasure for a little bit too long, but there's nothing wrong with that! He is the one with the stick up his ass! I bet he doesn't even satisfy Starfire; if he did he would be shagging her instead of getting on my case!" Mika gritted her teeth "Great! Now I'm talking to myself! I guess Raven has been rubbing off on me, she does that a lot when she thinks I'm not paying attention."

Mika was too focused on herself to notice the advancing ice truck right behind her. But she managed to dodge it just in time before being thrown out the road.

"Hey! Watch it asshole!" the driver of the truck didn't even pay attention to her and just drove off. "You picked the wrong night to mess with me pal…"

The dark woman rode her bike at high speed until she reached the side of the offending truck. In an old western style maneuver she jumped from the bike in motion to the side of the truck where she grabbed herself with her claws. The driver seemed to have noticed her presence and began zigzagging to shake her off.

"You are going to need more than that buddy. Right now I'm indulging in wrath!"

The vampire climbed to the top of the truck and crawled to the passengers' cabin. She smashed the window and grabbed the man riding shotgun and threw him out. She saw him roll down the road and then took his now vacant seat. The driver turned to look at her in terror.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!"

"You pissed me off!" and then she grabbed him by the collar and sank her fangs in his flesh.

The ice truck lost control and crashed against a light post ending its journey. After a minute Mika got out of the vehicle; the man she had attacked was unconscious inside. She didn't dare look at him. He was not dead, but the weight of what she had done was finally sinking in. The sound of an approaching police patrol got her mind racing.

"I have to get out of here fast." 

Then she heard it. Someone was knocking inside the trucks cargo. The vampire approached the doors with caution, afraid to actually open them. But then more noises came from the inside, some resembling sobbing and whining. So she opened the doors, and gasped at what she saw.

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"Dick what happened here?" inquired Starfire as she entered the common room and saw her boyfriend cleaning up the blood from the walls.

"Nothing… just a little accident."

Raven approached and saw the pieces of a broken cup near the damaged wall.

"Richard… since you are not bleeding I would presume the blood came from this cup." Raven inquired, but her friend just looked down uncomfortable. "The only one that drinks blood in a cup around here is my girlfriend… did you had a fight with her while we were gone?"

"She started it… we kind of lost our temper."

"Richard!" recriminated Starfire. "Why can't you leave Raven's lady friend alone!"

"She started it!" everyone turned to look at him suspiciously. "Really! I was quietly working here on the abducted people case when she got all hostile! And she was the one who threw a cup at me!"

"Yo! Who attacked the wall?" asked Cyborg as he entered the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Mika according to Dick here." quipped in Changeling as he took a seat in front of the TV.

"And where is she now?" asked the empath trying to remain calm. 

Richard and Mika had been getting at each other's nerves more and more often, and there seemed to be no more common ground for them to be at ease. It made Raven uncomfortable knowing that eventually she was going to be forced to pick a side between her friend and her lover.

Nightwing didn't seem to grasp her internal dilemma. He didn't like the vampire's attitude, and he didn't trust her, so he wasted no time speaking his mind. "Probably taking out her wrath on some unsuspecting victim… after all, she's a vampire."

Raven frowned, but before she could reply, Cyborg interrupted them. "Or maybe saving the city…. You got to check this out everyone!"

The metal man turned up the volume. The big screen showed the live footage of a reporter in front of an ice truck nailed to a light post. The news flash legend read: New Hero Saves the Abducted Families.

_ /// In an incredible display of heroism, a local resident of Jump's Bay Harbor Area managed to stop an organized crime spree responsible for the abduction of 3 families in the past two weeks. We have the live declaration of our new hero. /// _

The camera focused now on Mika looking somewhat confused by all the lights on her face.

_ /// Tell us, what happened here tonight? /// _

_ /// I was waiting at the red light when the truck stopped by my side and I heard the distinct cries for help. Right then I knew something was wrong, so as soon as it began moving I gave chase to it… ///  _

_ /// What inspired you to risk yourself for the sake of the people inside the truck? ///  _

_ /// Well… I guess there's a superhero in all of us… not just inside a giant T. ///  _

_ /// So, are you a meta human? /// _

_ /// Yeah… something like that… ///  _

_ /// Coming up next we'll bring you the live declarations of the victims. ///  _

The newsflash ended and all the teen heroes looked at each other. No one knew exactly what to say now.

Raven turned to face Nightwing. He looked back at her sheepishly as she glared at him menacingly. "Don't you dare talk badly about my girlfriend again you jerk… got it?" 

And with that, the mage turned around and left the Tower.

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Mika had been a vampire far longer than she had been a human. Over the past century she had been reminded over and over again that there was a beast inside of her that craved for the hunt and the warm blood of that she once was. Tonight the beast had broken the leash momentarily.

She was staring at her face in the bathroom mirror. She was glad most things said about vampires where actual myths, like the one that they cast no reflection.

"Probably a myth invented by my own kind to hide our true nature…" she smirked at this. "Tonight's events were… very interesting… I went from villain to hero in no time."

Mika began assessing the consequences of tonight's events, when she got startled by someone knocking at her door. The vampire panicked. If anyone had found where she lived and it was another reporter shoving a camera on her face she was probably going to snap… again.

She approached the front door with caution and called for whoever was outside. "Who is it?"

"It's me… Rachel…"

The vampire opened the door and she was tackled by her girlfriend still in combat costume, who hugged her tightly.

"Hey, what's up with all the enthusiasm?" asked the vamp as she closed the door behind them.

"I know you were at the Tower tonight, and had a little discussion…"

"Oh right… sorry about the blood in the wall… I…"

"I also saw you on TV." interrupted Raven. "We all saw you."

Mika wasn't sure what to make out of it until Rae smiled and kissed her deeply."My hero…" 

"Oh… well you know me… I got inspired by your dedication to crime fighting… just felt like it was time for me to be a productive member of society… make a good use of my abilities!" bragged Mika in fake modesty as she finished her sentence with one of her cheeky, charming smiles.

Mika knew she was far from honest; manipulating the situation to her advantage. But the irony of it all was intoxicating, and the look of pride on her girlfriend's face was priceless.

Soon they were kissing; with more and more passion. Raven was still in her hero outfit from patrol and Mika was actually enjoying feeling her up in that sexy attire she used to fight crime. She unclasped Raven's cloak and it fell the ground. Then she grabbed her ass and lifted her up. Instinctually, the Titan wrapped her legs around her girlfriend and the vampire carried her until she was nailing her to the wall. Their make out session was escalating in intensity rapidly.

Raven felt herself surrendering to her most basic instincts. She was burning up, and all she could think about was Mika's tongue on her skin. But then, an outburst of black energy made a picture on the wall explode in little shards fell on top of them. 

They jumped startled and stopped kissing as a piece of broken glass landed on the empath's forehead scratching her skin and causing a small drop of blood drip down her delicate features.

"Sorry." apologized the empath blushing. "I forgot to bring the amulet you gave me… I never carry it on patrol."

Her vampire girlfriend didn't respond; she just saw the blood run down her temple and her chocolate brown eyes became crimson red. The beast was too close to the surface.

Raven noticed this and her demon side got aroused by the situation. "You can taste it if you want…"

"I don't think that's such a good idea… what if I become addicted to it?"

"I wouldn't mind it if you become addicted to me." Raven's eyes were filled with lust as she answered back.

Mika grew hornier by the second. Blood would always make her lust, but the idea of her lover's blood made every inch of her flesh tingle in expectation. So she sensuously licked her lover's forehead and it tasted like pure heaven. Raven's blood was rich and powerful. An animalistic instinct took over and she couldn't take it anymore. She exposed her girlfriend's neck and sank her fangs into her silky gray flesh.

Raven moaned loudly from the pain and the pleasure given at the same time by the bite. The demoness eyes became crimson red, and her tattoos began glowing as she manipulated the shadows around them. Tentacles of darkness ripped both of their clothes off and the dark Titan levitated them to the bedroom where she threw Mika roughly on the bed.

"You want to play Mistress of Pain, luv?" mocked Mika from her position in bed.

"I wouldn't tease me like that if I were you…" answered the demon in a raspy voice.

"Why? Are you going to punish me?"

Demon Raven smirked and shadow tendrils bound Mika's arms and legs to the bed. She climbed on top of her girlfriend, biting her flesh and leaving marks on her path. Her sharp nails ran up and down her subdued girlfriend's body in an almost painful way that drew out muffled yelps from the vamp.

The empath growled close to the vampire's ear. "I can feel your emotions… you are scared… and aroused… I like it."

Mika kissed her passionately feeling Raven's sharp demonic teeth with her tongue. The empath was losing herself to her demonic side at an incredible rate, but the vampire was not going to stop her; she was rejoicing in Raven's lack of control.

The demoness then positioned herself in her entrance, rubbing her pelvic bone against Mika's hardened clit. The vampire smirked believing her girlfriend would ride her. But with her power over shadows, the dark Titan materialized an appendage protruding from her own clit and when the vampire least expected it, she penetrated her hard.

"OH GOD!" Mika screamed loud into the night as she felt herself thorn from the inside.

"There is no god here, love… just me." hissed the demoness as she pumped her harder and faster.

Mika bit her lip to stop herself from screaming louder and louder each time Raven rammed her into the bed. Pain and pleasure mixed in a confusing ball of raging emotions. A streak of blood flowed from her opened lip and when the demon saw it she smiled.

"You say your blood is the source of eternal youth, isn't it?"

"Yes…" gasped the vampire between thrusts. "Feeling a little old luv?"

"Even in your position, you just can't stop teasing me, can't you?"

Mika smirked, so the demon in Raven fucked her harder and faster than before. Between Raven's panting and Mika's screaming, they finally reached climax. And as wave after wave of pleasure poured into them, the Titan finally tasted the blood in her lover's tainted lips. That dark, raw, animalistic connection made them both come harder and the spasms to last longer. It all felt like an eternity, and at the same time, not nearly enough.

Raven's eyes went back to normal and the shadow tendrils bounding Mika disappeared. With their last strength, they embraced each other and fell into a deep sleep.

_ To be continued… _


	3. Daddy's Little Girl

_ Two weeks ago… _

Raven was meditating on the Tower's rooftop. The sun was setting on the horizon, and although she usually enjoyed the sunsets, for they were filled with hope for her love to come; right now, it was filled with longing.

Two weeks had passed since she had seen her girlfriend. The last time they'd met, they had parted on not such good terms. And the empath regretted every action and word spoken that day, so she kept replaying everything on her mind.

…

Raven had woken up not knowing for sure where she was. It was a dark and unfamiliar place. But as the fog of sleepiness lifted, she adjusted her sight to the darkness and was finally able to see the sleeping face of her girlfriend. Mika was cold and unmoving, and for a moment Raven panicked; she had to remind herself that was Mika's usual state, she did not need to breath.

The memories of last night's activities then came tumbling to her mind in a rush. After examining her closer, the empath noticed bruises around the vampire's neck, and long scratch marks on her back. She remembered how she had hurt Mika in the heat of passion. Raven had felt, regardless of her cockiness, her pain and her fear and she had rejoiced in it. 

The empath suddenly felt dirty.

The vampire would sleep all day, so it gave her time to sneak out and meditate in her room. Enough time to put the leash back on her emotions before having to face her again and apologize for everything. 

She stood up and began searching for her clothes when a sleepy voice stopped her in her tracks. "Leaving so soon luv?"

Raven turned to the bed and Mika was sitting there. "You are awake?"

"Nah, I just talk in my sleep… I felt you get up."

"Yeah, I have to go." answered the Titan in a hurry. "It's past noon… so I should go and do stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, super hero stuff… patrol… eat… shower… probably not in that order." Raven began babbling uncomfortably as she tried not to look at her naked girlfriend in bed. Just thinking about taking her forcefully again made her squirm.

"Rachel, are you alright?" asked Mika sensing her discomfort.

"Yeah… mind if I borrow some of your clothes? Mine are kind of... thorn."

"Sure… pick whatever you like. You can turn on the light; just don't open the curtains… that would hurt." commented Mika as she saw how her girlfriend went about her darkened room looking for something that would fit. Still, the empath kept the lights off and refused to make eye contact with her. "Ehm… want us to take a shower together before you leave? We are both kind of sweaty and bloodied."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" answered Raven as she put on some jeans. "You should get dressed too."

"Why? I'm not going anywhere… Are you uncomfortable to see me naked?"

"No… it's just… I should get my necklace first…" quavered Raven barely referring to the talisman that kept her powers under control. The half demon got in a black t-shirt and tried to fit in some hiker boots. "I had not noticed that your feet were so small… I guess I'm going to have to go barefoot."

"Rae, are you freaked about last night?" Mika couldn't ignore the elephant in the room any longer and just blurted it out.

Raven seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. "Aren't you? And don't lie. Am an empath, I could tell you were hurting and scared last night…"

"Well, yeah…" admitted the vamp. "But I was also very turned on. It was unexpected to see you go all demony, but I did kind of enjoy our little sado fun. Didn't know you had that in you…"

"I told you I am half demon." reminded the mage. "My father did unspeakable things... and whether I like it or not, I have a part of him in me."

"Yeah, I kind of felt his part down there." Raven just glared at her. "Ok, so last night you let the demon run loose a little, it's no big deal. You are daddy's little girl, I get it."

"Don't you ever call me that again!" threatened Raven with rage in her eyes as dark energy engulfed Mika and she was thrown from bed to smack against the nearest wall.

"Ouch… moody much in the morning?" sassed the vampire grabbing her head where she had impacted with the wall.

The empath breathed in deeply to calm down. She lowered her head and whispered "I'm sorry…"

Mika stood up and dismissed it as if it had been nothing. "Don't worry. It didn't really hurt that much... No pain no gain?"

The Titan frowned at her attempts to be funny. "Mika you have to stop messing with my demon side, you are going to get hurt."

"You keep referring to yourself as if there were many Raven's in there. As if you have no control over what your other  _ you _ does."

"There ARE many Me, so to speak" emphasized the Titan.

"Oook… nice to know I have a girlfriend with a multiple personality disorder."

"You don't get it, I…"

"No, I do get it." interrupted Mika "My sarcastic side sometimes gets the best of me; but I do get it. There is this beast inside of me that craves for blood. And I do know what it is like to battle with your inner demons and the guilt that comes with it."

Raven remained quiet for a while. She didn't know exactly what to say anymore.

"Please don't go." begged Mika as she walked closer to Raven and hugged her tightly, pressing all her nakedness against the horny demoness.

"You really have to put some clothes on…" replied the Titan still refusing to let go of her emotions. 

Before Mika could answer Raven's communicator began calling for her. "There's trouble. I have to go. I'll see you tonight, ok?"

…

Her vampire girlfriend had just nodded and kissed her sweetly. And that was the last she had seen of her before she had sent her a message telling Raven that she had to go back to her father's manor on some family business. She was currently in Las Vegas for some indefinite time.

"I should have stayed to make sure she was alright."

_ Just call her and apologize! _ – demanded Brave in an exasperated tone. 

_ What are we to apologize for? Mika leaves town and she hasn't had the courtesy to call! She just sent a message? What's that about! _ – pointed out Rude.

_ She's in Las Vegas probably going all Casanova on the tourists. That place was built as a vampire playground. _ – Lust sounded different this time; Jealous maybe?

_ Mika wrote there was a family situation, she's probably busy dealing with that. _ – defended Love.

_ Right, she probably is waiting for us to call her considering the way we left last time. She's probably confused by our actions and is just trying to give us some space. And this guilt pent up is probably what's giving us nightmares. _ – commented Wisdom.

"Alright everyone be quiet. I'll just call her and find out what happened exactly."

Raven took out her phone as she walked over to the edge of the rooftop. Night had fallen and the wind blew quietly around her. She dialed her girlfriend's number, and after a few rings she finally picked up.

_ /// Hello ///  _

"Hey Mika, how are you?"

_ /// Oh, hi Rae… ehm good, good… how are you? /// _

"Great!" answered Raven a little too fake. "Missing you actually… when are you coming back?"

_ /// I'm not really sure. /// _

"Why? What happened?"

_ /// Nothing serious really… I've just been busy… daddy dear wants me to earn my living so I'm working on a project. /// _

"Really? What are you working on?" asked Raven with curiosity.

_ /// Look I really can't talk right now. Call you later, k'? /// _

"Yeah, sure. I…"

_ /// Bye… /// _

_ Beep. Beep. Beep.  _

"…love you."

_ That didn't come out so good…  _

_ Oh, really?  _

Raven's emotions began a verbal assault on each other, so she went back to her meditation to try and calm herself before she was due to patrol.

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Starfire was in her room feeling down. Her best friend was acting all gloomy since her girlfriend left town and refused to come out of her room except to meditate in the rooftop or patrol. The guys on the other hand were a ball of raging hormones and could rarely be seen at home; Gar was always out with some random girl he would pick up, and Cyborg was always with Bumblebee. The only guy who didn't have his head in the gutter was Dick… unfortunately for the alien princess. He was obsessing over some case… again.

The Tamaranean was bored enough and decided to sneak on her boyfriend. She really didn't understand why on Earth she had ended up with the guy to whom every encounter had to be "special" and planned. She understood he was a gentleman, and she loved that about him… but she was from Tamaran, they were not well known for sweetness, let alone regarding sex.

When the alien finally reached her destination, Richard Grayson was immersed reading something on his laptop. He never noticed his girlfriend sneaking behind him until she was right by his side.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh! Kori, you startled me." admitted Nightwing as he adjusted himself on his seat. "I'm working on the abducted families' case, do you need something?"

"Yes." Starfire turned him around on his chair and straddled him while she sensuously played with his hair. He smiled getting what she wanted. He might be an obsessive control freak, but he was still a guy.

"I got the horns, Dick."

"You mean you are horny." corrected patiently her boyfriend.

"Yes."

They began kissing each other and Nightwing took the liberty of playing with his girlfriend's tits. The Tamaranean moaned at this and she could feel her boyfriend's hardness below her. Spandex costumes did nothing to conceal his arousal.

Then something rang a bell in her head. "Why are you working on that case?"

"I'm sorry?" the Boy Wonder was confused by the question. His mind was already running with the various naughty things he would do to her.

"Why are you working on the abducted families' case? It was solved two weeks ago." asked again the alien princess.

"Well… there were some things that didn't match up about the culprits capture."

"But they were caught by Mika… Dick! Raven is not going to be happy to know that you are investigating her lady friend!" she smacked him. "Actually I'm not happy you are neglecting me to investigate on her lady friend!"

"Ouch!" Nightwing tried to defend himself from the assault of his pissed off girlfriend, as she kept smacking him on the head. "Star… I actually found something a little disturbing… I was not sure how to bring that up… Ouch!"

Starfire sighed. She parted from him and sat on his bed with her arms crossed waiting for an explanation. "Ok, what did you find?"

"According to the kidnappers' declaration Mika did not chase after them to save the people in the truck. She chased after them because they were in the way. The driver admitted she told him he had pissed her off before biting on his neck. He said to have been terrified."

"Richard you cannot tell that to Raven, she is devastated enough as it is."

"She deserves to know the truth."

"The truth is Mika caught the bad guys and released the families. Everything else are the excuses of villains." Star grabbed him by the hands. "Please, just drop it."

"I can't." groaned the masked vigilante with apprehension. "Mika is a vampire. She drinks human blood to survive. I investigated her vampiric father, and he has been linked to the disappearance of several people over the last decades. Maybe she hasn't seen him in a while, but I bet the apple didn't fell so far off the tree."

"That we cannot prove."

"No. But I wouldn't bet against her being daddy's little girl. And I don't think it's a coincidence either that she got out of town as soon as that incident happened. I'm not sure we can really trust her."

"But Raven loves her, and she is our friend."

"I know. That's why I won't mention anything until I'm a 100% sure." Nightwing went back to his computer. "I am the leader of this team Star, and I swore to protect it. Not because it's my job; but because you guys are my family… and Raven is like a sister to me."

The Tamaranean princess hugged him from behind and cuddled on his neck. "I know… that's why I love you."

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Raven entered her room in a hurry. She locked the door and began pacing in front of it. Several objects blew up in the shelves, engulfed in dark energy. She opened her drawer and took out the amethyst talisman Mika had given her; she looked at it for a moment until the empath finally put it on to prevent any more power outbursts.

"She lied to me… again."

_ What did you expect… she's a vampire!  _ – mentioned Rage through gritted teeth.

_ Maybe there's an explanation. _ – jumped in Love.

_ Who are you trying to fool? She's been that way since we know her… _ \- interrupted Rude.

_ Don't go judging yet… we overheard only one part of the conversation… maybe we misunderstood. _ – meditated Wisdom. 

_ We should ask Robin what he knows! _ – demanded Brave.

_ We should ask Mika the truth! _ – yelled Love.

_ She's in Las Vegas… _ \- whispered Timid.

_ She left without saying anything! _

_ She hung up on us! _

_ She lied to make us feel proud of her!  _

_ She manipulated us to drink her blood!  _

_ She's drawing out our demon side! _

_ She's the one we are seeing in those nightmares!  _

_ She's turning us into something we don't want to be!  _

Raven knelt down on the floor grabbing her head with both hands in a vain attempt at quieting her voices. Her emotions were out of control. She couldn't even determine which emotion was saying what. It was all confusing and painful.

Then, in the least appropriate moment, the alarm of Titans Tower began to ring.

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"Dude, where's Raven?" asked Changeling as she was the only one not in the T-Car.

"She said she was not feeling good, she had an ache of the head." answered Starfire concerned. 

Raven rarely got sick, and as her best friend, the Tamaranean sensed there was something more going on. But before she could bring up her concerns, the Titans arrived at the electrical power plant to find Dr. Light wrecking chaos.

"Titans GO!"

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Raven was in the Tower keeping track of the battle through the big screen in the living room. Her friends were having trouble dealing with Dr. Light's power blasts. She knew she could easily deal with him, but her powers are driven by emotion, in her current state she would probably kill him. Then it would all be worst.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

_ You are been selfish! _

_ All for a girl! _

_ Your family needs you! _

The big screen showed Starfire been thrown from the sky by a light beam and landing hard on her butt.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

_ She lied to you! _

_ You have to go and help them! _

_ You could kill somebody! _

Gar yelled some indecencies to the villain to draw his fire and dove behind some crates just in time to dodge his attack.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

_ It's time to confront her… _

_ She's a vampire! She's evil like us! _

_ But we love her! _

Cyborg and Nightwing took the opportunity and teamed up to send a double attack from both sides.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

_ These nightmares are so real…  _

_ You drank her blood… _

_ Daddy's little girl… _

Finally the battle in the screen was over. The Titan's apprehended Dr. Light. Everyone was alright, no one got injured. Raven felt a big weight lift off her shoulders.

"Thank Azar."

Then something rang in her pocket. She took out the phone and there was a message.

_ *I'm sorry if I haven't been around for a while, and for today's call been cut short. I'm really busy luv. But I'll be home as soon as I can… I miss you too. And I love you. Wait for me 'k?* _

Raven sighed. The message from her undead lover eased her heart regardless of their current situation. She loved Mika, and she could feel Mika loved her deeply; the vampire just had a tendency of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

"You are an idiot but you always know what to say and when to say it."

The image in the big screen blinked and Starfire's face appeared on the screen.

_ /// Hello, friend. Are you feeling the better? /// _

"Yes Star, I'm feeling better." answered the demoness as she faintly smiled for her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. Did you get injured?" 

_ /// No friend. I am fine. It is you I am worried about. ///  _

"I'll be alright Star… I'm just feeling a little down."

_ /// What troubles you friend? Is it about Mika? /// _

"I guess I'm just worried over nothing… You don't think she's getting in trouble in Las Vegas, do you?" wondered Raven.

_ /// No. Your lady friend is a very nice person. She is probably just busy… Family can complicate things. It doesn't mean she is like them. /// _

"Yeah… don't we know it." admitted the empath. Both of them were not exactly known for their heroic, heartwarming families.

_ /// We'll be home soon and we can do the girl bonding. /// _

The image turned black and she turned it off.

_ I'm sure Mika is also doing some girl bonding… _ \- spitted Jealousy from a corner of her mindscape.

"Shut up." 

_ Pussy whipped!  _

_ To be continued…  _


	4. Who are you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title based on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode… yes I am a huge vampire fan. =)

**_Back to the present…_ **

The Titan's stared at the beast in human form through the screen in the living room. It was locked in the containment cell, biting at the cell bars trying to get out. Nightwing and Cyborg had not been successful capturing the last one that escaped, but since the sun had come up they decided to start looking again as the sun went back down.

"How is Gar?" asked their leader concerned. 

Starfire and Raven looked at each other unsure of what to say, until the empath finally answered. "He has a fever. I think he might have caught an infection from the bite."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know… that has never happened when Mika has bitten me."

"That has happened several times?" inquired Nightwing.

"Just once actually…" Raven blushed as everyone stared at her. "We kind of got carried away…"

"Maybe these vampires have rabies or something." mentioned Cyborg, trying to get the conversation back on track. He didn't really want to know about Raven's kinky night sessions. "Maybe they are sick and that's why they are acting so savage."

"Can they get sick? Aren't they dead?" asked Starfire. As far as she knew from her conversations with the vampire, the undead did not suffer from mortal ailments.

"Maybe they are young vampires." commented Raven, also remembering some of her girlfriend's words. "Mika said accidents happened with young ones."

"That was no accident; that was a massacre." replied Richard. "Besides, that would imply somebody is turning people and letting them run loose in the city."

"Why don't we just ask Mika for some insight?" suggested Cyborg.

Everyone turned to look at Raven. They knew Mika had gone out of town; but she hadn't admitted she had also practically disappeared on her. "I… haven't really spoken to her in awhile…"

"Raven, you know we respect your privacy as much as it's possible but, did something happen between you two?" finally inquired the metal man.

"Yeah, I mean, she disappeared right after she became the local hero. I would think she would take advantage of it to rub it on our faces." suggested their leader.

Raven knew he was trying to get information from her. He was looking for any excuse to antagonize the vampire; but she was not giving him the satisfaction. Besides, she still felt some responsibility about her abrupt departure. "I… I actually did something that might have scared her off."

"Oook… since Mika might be our only link to what's going on, would you care to elaborate?"

"I might have let my demonic side running loose on her…and she got scared and hurt… Luckily she's not human, so it's wasn't so serious."

Richard analyzed her words carefully. Raven's ambiguousness made him look at her with suspicion. "You must have gotten really mad at her. Did she do something that bothered you?"

"No! Ehmm no… Not only anger can wake up my demonic side." explained the demoness quickly knowing where he was trying to get. 

“Sooo…” 

"We were...eemmhhh…” Raven’s face was red as a tomato and everyone quickly caught up with what she wasn’t saying. The empath cleared her throat and decided to let them interpret her silence. “I wasn’t mad, any strong emotion can awaken my demonic side. And… well, with Mika emotions tend to run high."

"So she freaked and took the first bus out of town?" tried to clarify Cyborg.

"Actually I was the one who freaked and just left her there… and I think she felt hurt and confused… and then she left town."

A heavy silence fell on the room. Speaking about emotions and relationships was always an uncomfortable topic between them. But when it came to the resident empath in particular, talking about emotions not only was uncomfortable, sometimes it was even dangerous.

Nightwing sighed. "Have you spoken to her in her absence?"

"Just once." replied Raven. "She said she would be home as soon as she finished whatever it was she was doing in Las Vegas."

The Titan's leader turned around and walked to the screen that displayed their prisoner. He examined him carefully until he finally spoke again. "Raven, I know you are walking on eggshells with your girlfriend right now, but Gar is sick. We'll call some doctors to come over to the Tower, but maybe you should contact her just in case."

Raven sighed resigned. She took out her phone and dialed the vampire's number. It rang several times until the answering machine came up. "Mika I know you must be sleeping right now, but I need you to contact me as soon as you can. Something's happened. Please call me."

"Guess we'll have to wait until nightfall." 

The big screen in the living room began flashing red, signaling an important incoming call. Nightwing immediately took it and the Mayor appeared on the screen. 

_ /// Morning Titans ///  _

“Mayor, what can the Titans do for you?”

_ /// I’m calling regarding the unfortunate incident that transpired last night at the movie theater. ///  _

“You’ve already heard of it?” 

_ /// It’s all over the news. People are demanding to know who was responsible and if something could have been done to prevent it. Many lives were brutally ended. /// _

“We are aware of that, and we are already working on it mayor.” 

_ /// Did you manage to capture the culprits? /// _

“We have one of them in our containment cell. We regret to say the other one escaped.” 

_ /// It was only 2 creatures? ///  _

“Creatures?” 

_ /// I saw the security tapes. ///  _

“The third one met an unfortunate end.” explained Nightwing. “We had no choice, he attacked Changeling and he is unconscious as we speak.” 

_ /// I’ll send a team to retrieve your prisoner. /// _

“I would advise against it until we know what we are dealing with here, Mayor.” 

_ /// The Titans failed to prevent a massacre, and allowed a dangerous beast to roam our streets. I think everyone would feel safer if the appropriate authorities handled the situation. ///  _

Nightwing had to make a colossal effort to keep his tone as polite as possible. “With all due respect sir, this crime actually falls into Titan’s jurisdiction. We can retain our prisoner for the next 48 hours before handing him over.” 

///  _ Very well Nightwing. You have 48 hours to clean this mess.  _ /// 

The mayor hung up and the four Titans stood there, staring at each other. 

“That was not very polite.” commented Starfire, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah, what’s gotten up his ass now?” sneered Raven. “Reelection season?” 

“Regardless of that, he’s right. We have to handle it and find our escaped creepy crawler.” Richard affirmed and began handing out orders. "Raven, see if you can come up with information on vampires; it might come in handy. Cyborg, please tend to Gar; make sure he gets the best doctors. Star, keep an eye out for any reports that might relate to our escaped vamp. Meanwhile, I'll investigate who our prisoner is and try to dig information from him. We are going to be busy tonight, so make sure to make yourselves time to rest during the day."

With that everyone got to work on their assignments and prepared for a long night.

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She entered the Vampire Bar. Not many people had arrived since it was still early on a Wednesday night. She sat at a little table near the stage. It was open mic night; and a pale, skinny guy was bleeding his heart out with some dark poetry. 

She stared at him until he sensed her eyes upon him. He turned to look at her and he smiled knowingly.

When Goth Boy walked down from stage he sat next to her on her table. "Long time no see."

She grinned at his words. "Not really in the mood to chat… want to get out of here?"

Like all good teenage boys he just couldn't say no to such proposition. So he stood up eagerly. She grabbed his hand and led him to the back alley. The gothic music in the background muted as the door closed behind them.

The night was pitch black, and the alley was very poorly lit. After a few steps she turned around and pinned him to the wall. She took in his scent and began licking his neck in a most primal way.

Goth Boy's ragged breath was the only sound that could be heard in the alley. And when she sensed his arousal through his pants she grabbed his head forcefully with both hands and opened her mouth to reveal her fangs.

The boy gasped, but before he could yell in horror she sank her teeth in his tender flesh. Time stopped for him as she drank his life force, and he fell to the ground.

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"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

Raven woke up startled. She was alone in her dark room. Sweat dripped down her chest and her forehead. The empath's heart was beating hard in her chest and she was breathing with difficulty. It had been another nightmare. 

“It's not real… just calm down… Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos… why the fuck I’m I dreaming about eating Gothboy now?” 

She shuddered trying to shake it off and looked out the window. It was night already; she overslept. 

The Titan quickly got dressed in her combat uniform and got as fast as she could to the communications room. Nightwing and Cyborg were already there.

"Sorry to be late!" apologized Raven.

"It's ok. It's still early. We are still gathering information on what we can. Star is out patrolling." informed Richard.

"She's out alone?"

"She has instructions to not engage in combat. She will call us in case something comes up." reassured her leader.

"How is Gar?" asked the empath worried.

"The same… we can't lower his fever." replied Cyborg with concern in his voice "Did you find anything on vampire bites?"

"Nothing really. Everything about them, both in books or internet, is just legend stuff; like they can't cross running water, or that crosses repel them, or that they can't be seen in a mirror… Mika has proven all of those to be myths." 

"Keep trying to contact Mika then."

At that moment the big screen beeped signaling a call from Starfire's communicator. They turned it on to see the image of their fellow Titan.

"Yes Star, did you find anything?"

///  _ I am not certain. _ ///

"What do you mean?"

///  _ Somebody was found unconscious in the back alley outside the Vampire Bar.  _ /// 

"What!? Do you know who it was?" immediately asked Raven. Fear crawled up her spine.

///  _ Yes. I am sorry to say this Raven, but it was you friend Goth Boy. He doesn't remember anything that happened, he is weak, but he is alive. I called because I don't know if that is important, considering we are dealing with vampires. _ ///

"Star, just keep an eye out for anyone familiar." petitioned the empath.

"Do you know what's going on Raven?" asked her leader.

"I think I know who did that." replied the demoness somberly. "I think that was Mika… I dreamed about this just now."

"What?" Nightwing urged her to clarify. 

"I've been having these dreams since Mika left. At first I thought it was my imagination, but I've come to think I might actually be seeing her actions."

"How is that possible?" wondered Cyborg confused.

"Am an empath… maybe I established some sort of connection with her."

"Alright Titans, guess we have another vampire to hunt for." grunted Nightwing getting in business mode.

Raven lowered her eyes to the ground for a second before turning around and storming out the room.

Dick sighed loudly wondering if he was going to deal with another emotional backlash from their resident empath.

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Raven overflew the city trying to sense her girlfriend's presence. The challenging part about it was that Mika transmitted her emotions on a different wavelength that most of the time was hard to read, even in close range. Trying to find her like this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Let's see, if I was a vampire who just got out of town and recently fed, what would I be doing right now?"

_ What about chillin out at my favorite place?  _

Far in the distance, the lighthouse tower appeared. It stood out in the bay in all its somber glory, and it was one of Mika's favorite places. Raven teleported inside, and from the shadows she could make out the vampire staring out the horizon.

The empath froze realizing it was the first time she would speak to her face to face in a month. There were so many things she had to ask, it was hard to know where to begin. "So you are really here."

Mika jumped startled as Raven stepped out from the shadows. She looked like a wild animal ready to snap at the trespasser. "Mika it's me, Raven."

"Raven?"

"Yeah, as in your girlfriend." answered the empath in her characteristic sarcastic tone as she walked closer. "How many Ravens do you know?"

Mika seemed to relax and lowered her stance. On closer inspection, the demoness realized she looked different; her hair was hidden inside a green fedora hat and her usual leather clothes were replaced by washed out jeans and a green blouse.

"Right, sorry. You scared the shit out of me baby. On the upside, I found you."

"If you wanted to find me you could have come straight to the Tower." retorted the empath.

"Of course, the Tower…" the vampire fidgeted on her place, she seemed uncertain of what to say. "So, what's up?"

"What's up?" exclaimed the Titan outraged. "You disappear for one month and all you ask is what's up!?"

Mika looked back at her confused; but quickly changed her demeanor and walked closer to her and grabbed her hands. "You are right! I am sorry. I've missed you baby, will you forgive me? You know it wasn't my intention to just leave like that."

"Why did you leave anyway?"

"I had stuff to do." replied the vampire nonchalantly.

"What stuff? What have you been doing?" asked Raven. "And why didn't you return my message? I told you something really wrong is happening, yet you are out here doing Azar knows what, and I'm starting to believe you've been doing something awful!"

"Look, I don't know what else to say besides I'm sorry."

"Are you really sorry? I know you usually play the I'm the bad-ass-vamp-everything's-cool card, but do you really have to act so indifferent right now?"

The empath was usually controlled and cold in her emotions. But after everything that had happened she was acting like a wounded animal, and lashed at the minimal provocation.

The vampire seemed at a loss for words and backed away instinctively. "You are totally right! But you know how much I suck at expressing my feelings. That doesn't mean I don't care. And I don't know why you are worried about what I've been doing anyway..."

"You don't know why I'm worried!? Your eyes are crimson like when you drink blood!" yelled Raven at her, making a crate behind Mika blow up with her powers. 

The vampire flinched and opened her eyes wide like saucers. The empath realized then she was losing her temper in a dangerous way and mentally chanted her mantra to calm down. "Look, I know I screwed up last time we saw, but please tell me you haven't gone and done something stupid because of it."

"I… Look, I know you are totally right about being mad, but I don't want to argue, not now anyway… Why don't you better tell me what was so urgent that's got you so worked up?"

"You are right. It's not a good time to be arguing. There's something we need you to figure out. Let's go to the Tower and I'll explain."

"Sure… lead the way…"

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On their way to the Tower the vampire didn't really say anything. Raven was confused; Mika felt distant, guarded even. As they arrived, the empath analyzed her girlfriend; she hadn't made any attempt at any physical contact, she just admired the view through the big window in the living room and played nervously with her hat as she waited for the other to take the initiative.

"You cut your hair…" mentioned Raven to break the ice. Noticing her long, black hair was now short and spiky.

"Yeah… I did."

"It looks… different."

"Thanks, I guess." answered the vamp. 

"Actually all of you looks different." noticed the demoness. 

The vampire smirked knowingly as she turned to look at her. Even though Mika was wearing way more feminine clothes than what she was used to, the demoness felt a chill run up her spine; as if she was in the presence of a predator. "I wanted to try a new look."

Before Raven could ask anything else, the rest of the team walked in.

"So you are really back." said Nightwing with a hint of disdain.

"Yeah, I am." replied Mika coolly. "Missed me?"

"Yes friend, we have missed you very much!" answered the Tamaranean running to hug the vampire.

"Ugh! You are stronger than you look." groaned Mika as she was bear hugged by the alien.

"Oh, sorry." 

Starfire released her and an uncomfortable silence sat in. They all turned to look at each other before the vampire finally spoke. "Sooo… what's up guys?"

The leader of the Titans took the initiative. "We have a situation we need you in order to figure out. But before that, we have to ask you something… and we need the entire truth."

"Oook."

"There is really no easy way to break it, so I'll just go for it." the Titan's leader waited for her to nod. "Mika, did you attack Goth Boy tonight?"

"Goth Boy?" asked the vamp a little confused "Oh, right at the bar. Yeah he's alright, I was just goofing around."

They were all surprised by her blunt admission of guilt. They had at least expected her to try to cover her ass with a big fat lie.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Raven dumbfounded. "You never hunt! And he's my friend and you knew that! How could you leave him unconscious in the back of an alley!?"

"If he's such a good friend, how come he made a move on me?" sneered the vampire.

"He made a move on you?" questioned the empath. "Is that why you attacked him?"

"I thought: hey, if this jerk is willing to feel me up in a dark alley, how long will it take for him to try that on my girl?" concluded the brunette nonchalantly. "I got jealous."

"You got jealous and attacked someone?" gasped Nightwing baffled.

"I'm emotional…"

They all stared at her perplexed. Mika had always been blunt and unashamedly amoral. But this just seemed wrong even from her.

"Ok, you are making me wonder how many times that has happened before." noted Richard worriedly.

Cyborg got close to his leader and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dick, I understand how you must feel. But considering Goth boy is unharmed, why don't we move to a more pressing matter? I don't know; maybe Gar's health…"

"You are right… we can deal with our resident vampire's lack of morality later." agreed Nightwing. "Mika, Gar got a bite from a vampire and he fell sick. Do you have any idea why?"

"A vampire bite? I thought there were no other vampires in Jump City."

"Well we encountered 3 unexpected visitors last night causing mayhem." explained the Titan's leader. "And now Gar has an infection from the battle."

"An infection?" the vampire turned to look at him confused. "Our bite is not supposed to do that. We are not snakes."

"Maybe if you see him you might think of something? He's in the infirmary."

"Sure, I'll go see him." The vampire turned decisively to head to the elevator.

"Mika the infirmary is the other way." corrected Raven estranged.

"Right! Where is my head tonight…" she turned to look at Nightwing. "Say handsome, why don't you take me there? In such a big Tower I might get lost."

"Handsome?" Richard quirked an eyebrow as he was pulled by the arm by the vampire.

Raven was going to say something when she got interrupted by her ringing phone. She picked it up wondering who it might be; very few people had her number, and almost all of them were in the room. She answered the call and her expression grew somber as she listened intently. Cyborg noted this and approached her worriedly, for all she said before hanging up was: "Hurry please."

Suddenly, dark energy erupted from Raven and shadow tendrils engulfed the vampire pulling her away from her friends. The brunette's legs and arms got immobilized by the demoness' powers. Everyone jumped back, shocked by the empath's outburst.

"Ok, who are you!? I knew you were acting too strange." the dark Titan was furious and walked menacingly towards the vamp, lowering her to her knees with her powers. "I should have known; even the way your hips sway its wrong."

"What are you talking about!? It's me baby!" chirped her prisoner.

"Really?" Raven's eyes turned red. "You never call me baby…"

"Honey?"

"Wrong answer…" replied the demon in a raspy voice as she tightened the hold on her. The shadows began bruising her arms and legs and crushing her ribs.

"Friend Raven what is going on?" finally asked Starfire mortified.

"My girlfriend just called to say she just got back in town, and that she's on her way to the Tower." she took the doppelgangers chin in her hand to make her look at her. "What do you have to say to that?"

"Ups?"

Raven growled outraged. But before she could snap at the intruder the elevator doors opened. The real Mika came running out and almost stumbled on her own feet as she froze in place taking in the scene before her. Her girlfriend stood towering over her subdued doppelganger in the middle of the room, while the other Titan's surrounded her in fighting stance.

Everyone remained quiet as Raven walked to the second Mika and inspected her closely. "Your hair is long and your eyes are chocolate brown…"

"Aren't they usually?"

"Ok, Mika what is my name? My human name?"

"Are we going to play 50 questions luv?" replied the vampire. "Cause seriously Rachel, I knew you might be mad at me for disappearing on you, but this is not the welcoming committee I expected."

Ok, 3 things right: looks, pet name, human name. Raven relaxed a little but was still looking at her suspiciously. "Where you at the vamp bar tonight?"

"No… I came straight here…"

"You didn't see Goth Boy tonight?" kept asking the empath.

"Why would I want to see your yucky ex-boyfriend?" snorted the brunette. "And don't play innocent; I am most certain you dated him!"

Raven smiled at Mika's offended reply. Only she could answer like that. Still, she needed to be sure. "Did you go out hunting tonight?"

"No. You know I don't do that."

The empath took a deep breath. "Ok, last question: what do you think of Nightwing?"

"You really think this is an appropriate moment for me to say what I think of the Boy Blunder?"

Raven smiled wider for her undead lover and gave her a quick hug, before turning to the imposter. "Ok, evil clone over here is going down."

"No, wait! Don't hurt her!" Mika ran to her side and stood in front of her double. "Just let her go, please!"

"Why? She pretended to be you to get inside Titans Tower!"

"Typical…" Mika just rolled her eyes. "She is not an evil clone, she's my twin sister."

"What?!" everyone blurted out confused.

The dark energy caging the twin vanished. Mika turned to look at her sister with furious eyes. "Caroline why are you here? What were you thinking paroling as me?"

"She confused me with you! I was just having a little fun… plus it's your entire fault!" accused her twin.

"What?!"

"You didn't tell me about her! I just wanted to figure out more about your life here."

"I did tell you I was dating someone." replied Mika offended.

"Oh, and you just missed the tiny piece of fun fact that she is a superhero!?" sassed her sister. "I feel like I don't know who you are anymore!"

"That makes two of us." quipped in Raven. "You never said anything about having a twin sister. You never said anything about having a sister at all."

The brunette stood in the middle between her sister and her girlfriend. Both were glaring at her with arms crossed over their chests in identical expressions waiting for Mika to explain herself.

"I said nothing because…" The vampire just looked from one to the other unable to utter a reasonable response that would appease them. "There is a really good reason, and you both deserve a lengthy explanation, but right now is not the time. You said something about an emergency."

"Finally someone with her priorities straight!" yelled Cyborg "Even though we love the gossip about your family drama, Changeling needs us, now!"

"What happened to Gar?" asked Mika concerned, just noticing that he was the only one missing.

"He is sick from a vampire bite… do you know of something that could help him?" asked Richard.

"From a vampire bite? How did that happened?"

"We fought 3 vampires last night at the movie drive in. One bit Gar and he is feverish in the infirmary."

"Our bite is not infectious." objected Mika. "How do you know it was a vampire?"

"One of the attackers is in the containment cell on the lower levels."

"Take me to see him…"

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"No wonder you don't want to go back home, you have a very interesting life here…" noted Caroline as she turned to address her sister.

"Not now sis."

They were all looking at the vampire in the containment cell through the security cameras displayed in the big screen of the communications room. They had put Mika and Caroline (who had decided to tag along) up to date on the recent events.

"So, let me get this straight… The creepy crawler in your basement is supposed to be a vampire?"

"It has the physical characteristics of a vampire." began explaining the Titan's leader. "It has inhuman strength, speed, drinks blood using its fangs, gets burned by UV light, was a human being, crawled out from a grave…"

"Wait… it crawled out from a grave!?" exclaimed Mika.

"Yes, we found out the identity of our prisoner. He was Edward James, died a few days ago from cancer. When I checked his tomb, it was opened from the inside out, hence the state of his clothing."

"Wicked!"

"Caroline shush… ehm we don't usually crawl out from graves, that sounds awful and terrifying… although that would explain why he's all savage and stuff… like he lost all humanity in the process…" clarified the vampire.

"Mika, you once told me young vampires tend to… ehm… well kill people…" commented Raven.

"Yes, because the thirst is too great, the beast is too close to the skin, and they don't really know what they are doing." explained Caroline as she jumped in the conversation. "When they take enough blood into their systems they finally calm down and realize what they have done, and that puts the leash back on."

Everyone turned to look at Mika. "Yeah, what she said."

"Are there vampires that don't put the leash back on?" asked Starfire.

"Yes. There's always the possibility that the process of siring was so brutal it destroyed their humanity. Although those individuals don't usually live for too long; they are put down like rabid dogs."

"By whom?" asked Raven.

"By us… by vampires I mean." added Mika. "Our laws are very strict… and when one is found guilty there's only one sentence: final death."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Cyborg was a little shocked "I know killing a human being is a horrible action, but when another human does it, we don't immediately put it in death row."

"Killing a human being is not against our laws." corrected Caroline. "If a farmer kills a chicken to feed his family, the act itself might be cruel to some, but it's not against the law."

"Ok, is anyone else disturbed by the fact she's comparing us to a chicken?" Cyborg couldn't believe the tranquility in the words he was hearing.

Mika helped her sister's point. "Well it's the truth. Maybe now you will have more sympathy for Gar's vegetarian diet."

"Ok, but that doesn't explain why you sentence to death the ones of you who do so." asked Nightwing.

"We don't sentence to death other vampires for killing a human. We sentence them to death for making it public. Hence breaking our most sacred law in the process." continued the explanation Mika.

"Which is?"

"Breaking the masquerade… We are never to reveal our true nature to humans…" finished Caroline. Both twins seemed to complete each other's sentences. "It places us in danger."

"But that would make Mika an outlaw…" guessed Raven.

"Yes. My point exactly as to why I never introduced you two." stated the vampire sourly. "And the reason why I left like that. Our sire was not very happy to see me on TV, and sent some of his lackeys to retrieve me."

"You mean you were taken!?" Raven suddenly felt very guilty, if she had stayed with her maybe they wouldn't have taken her. She would have stopped them.

"Yes… good thing I've always been a good childe. Took me a while, but I managed to get away with it."

"Yeah, good thing you've always been daddy's little girl… or else you would be toast by now." teased her twin.

Mika rolled her eyes as she playfully poked her twin. Raven couldn't help analyze that silent interaction between them. It hit her as odd how close they looked to each other; despise the fact that her girlfriend never even mentioned her. It made her wonder what else she was hiding.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Cyborg pulled them back on track. "Ok, that's all very interesting… but what about Gar's infection? What's up with that?"

"I don't know… I've never heard of something like that." replied Mika. "Doesn't his shape shifting ability help him regenerate?"

"The doctors say it's pretty bad; he's not healing… at this rate he might die…"

Everyone kept quiet for a while. The possibility of death amongst them was always present in their line of work, but they had never felt it so close before.

Caroline looked back and forth between them. She didn't know who this Gar guy was, but felt he was important to them. "Mika, why don't we call our own doctor?"

"I don't think that's a good idea…" disagreed her sister. "We are breaking many rules as it is…"

"Yeah, but Gar might die." alleged her sister.

"You don't even know him."

"That doesn't mean I cannot care. I'm a sensitive person. Just look at them, they look like hush puppies." replied Caroline pointing at the rest of the Titans; Cyborg in particular looked heartbroken. "It's worth the try. And she won't talk; she's like your best friend, as far as I remember. Plus she owns you one. And you are both into alternative lifestyles…"

"Your doctor is a lesbian?" asked Raven.

"No. She's a vegan vamp." replied the twin with a cheeky grin. There was a lot of Mika in that smile.

Cyborg stood up excited. "That sounds great! Who better to heal a vampire bite infection, than a vampire doctor?"

"Guess we could give it a try to help Gar." conceded Mika noticing Cyborg's enthusiasm. After all, she did like the green guy and would regret his death. He had always been a good friend and very supportive of her relationship with Raven.

In that moment the alarm of Titan's Tower began to holler around them. Nightwing turned on the screen and in it appeared 4 new vampires wrecking chaos in the city.

"Titan's we have to stop another massacre from happening. Let's GO!"

At their leader's command everyone ran to the T-Car. Raven stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her girlfriend. "Aren't you coming to help us?"

"We can't…" interrupted Caroline before her sister could answer. "They are vampires like us. By our people's laws we would be required to aid them escape, not help you catch them."

"We'll stay here out of the way and try and get help for Garfield. Besides I suck at being a superhero." finally answered Mika. "Please be careful."

"Don't worry." said Rae as she gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You'll have your girlfriend in one piece by the end of the night. After all, we still have lots to talk about…"

And with that she created a portal and left to reunite with her team.

"I was afraid she would say that." whined Mika. 

"Is she going to spank you?"

"She's Raven of the Titans… she can do worse than that."

"How did that happen exactly?" wondered Caroline finding it odd how her sister had ended up paired to a superheroine.

"It's a long story."

They both stared at the screen as the action unfolded. The 4 rogue vampires separated in different directions as the heroes arrived. "I think we have plenty of time."

_ To be continued…  _


	5. Into the Light

The Titan's arrived home when the sun began to rise. They were worn out and sleepy, but victorious. They had successfully managed to defeat the vampires running rampant; Cyborg's UV ray beam proved to be the most effective vampire control weapon. And they managed to capture all of them without burning them to ashes. They might be dead, but the Titans were still not comfortable giving them final death.

Unfortunately they still had lots of work to do. All their new prisoners looked like the first one: blood thirst mad men. They might have won this battle, but it was still a mystery the cause for such attacks.

Raven got to her room on automatic pilot. She would probably sleep past noon again. But when she opened the door she found an unexpected surprise; on her bed was the sleeping form of her naked girlfriend. 

Mika was sprawled face down across the bed with the sheets barely covering her ass. Her long hair cascaded over her back and her face, accentuating her curves and her angelic features.

_ She looks like an angel… although she's far from one… She probably just fell asleep waiting for me, trying to seduce me.  _

The dark empath headed towards the bathroom and got in the hot shower to help her muscles relax after the battle. She closed her eyes thanking Azar to be home safe and sound. But then she heard the shower curtain move and when she opened her eyes, her lips were met by a familiar kiss.

"I thought you were asleep." said Raven as their lips parted.

"Were been the key word here." answered the vampire as she tangled her arms around her.

Raven then noticed that her girlfriend was in fact naked as well as she hugged her tightly against her.

"You must be very tired." commented the vampire. "Let me help you relax."

Mika grabbed the shampoo bottle and began to gently scrub her hair, giving her a massage in the process. Raven closed her eyes as she was lovingly cleansed by her girlfriend. She grabbed the soap in her hands to rub her back, while she untied the knots in her sore muscles. The Titan felt in heaven, she could easily get used to be treated like this after every battle. Once she finished with her back, she got her arms around her to rub her firm stomach. She played with her belly button making Raven laugh. 

"You should laugh more often, it sounds like a chorus of angels" she whispered in Raven's ear.

"Flattery is not going to save you from the questions I have for you…" answered the Titan with some harshness in her voice.

"Ouch! Don't be so hard on me luv. We haven't seen each other in a while… can't you spare me a little pain?"

"Well the bath is certainly helping…" replied the empath as she surrendered to her hands. "I feel like pudding right now."

"Oh and I haven't reached the good parts just yet." grinned the vamp.

"You evil woman, you want to distract me with sex… and you are cocky enough to actually assume that you will succeed."

"Actually, are you going to let me reach the good parts?" asked Mika with concern. "I know you are not wearing your necklace right now."

"Oh, go for it..." exclaimed the Titan surrendering to her caresses. "I'm so out of juice from the battle, I don't think I can muster any energy right now."

In response, Mika kissed her neck and began caressing her boobs, taking special care over her nipples. Then she went lower; her hands reached her neatly trimmed pubic hair and soaped it gently. Mika got closer to her to make sure Raven could feel her own genital area against her butt; this got a moan from the Titan that signaled her girlfriend she was ready for her to go lower.

"I love you." whispered the vampire in her ear. 

The vampire’s fingers skillfully reached her clit and began to make gentle circles around it. Raven felt her legs buckle but Mika got a hold of her. Delicious chills ran from her center to every cell in her body. Then the vampire rubbed faster and the scent of arousal filled the bath.

"I'm gonna cum…" panted the demoness.

"Please do…" 

Raven's body finally climaxed and she let all her weight rest on her girlfriend. Mika finished cleaning her and wrapped her in the towel. Then she carried her out of the bath and gently placed her on the bed.

"Time to sleep."

The vampire got in bed as well and cuddled next to Raven.

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She was running. 

She was running up a hill barefoot; she could feel the grass and rocks hurting her feet in her wild chase, but she didn't care. She had to get there as fast as she could or it would be too late. She could feel sleepiness trying to sink in and the warmth of the approaching sun tingling on her skin. 

She was finally reaching the top and she could see in the distance a red headed woman in a sundress staring out at the sunrise. She was so close, yet so far still. And it was too late. The sky had turned red in the horizon as the blazing sun was coming up. She had to immediately close her eyes as they began to burn. Then she tried to cover herself for her skin felt on fire.

The pain was so great she could think of nothing. So she dropped to the ground and got her hands on the dirt and began digging with her nails, seeking the cool protection of the earth below her. She buried herself underground allowing her skin to be healed by the darkness. 

As the pain diminished, the image of the fire woman waiting for the sun rushed back on her mind, and then she fell on a deep slumber.

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Raven woke up confused. It had been another dream...

This one was different though. She could still feel a burning sensation on her eyes and guilt sinking on the pit of her stomach. She turned to her side and there was Mika. This dream did not happen right now… it felt like… a memory… 

Raven got up. It would be a while before her girlfriend woke up and she still had plenty to do in the Tower. So she dressed and headed for the common room. Nightwing and Starfire were having breakfast; Cyborg was probably taking care of Gar.

"Morning friend Raven." greeted Starfire. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you… how is Gar?"

"The same…" answered their leader. "We have brought more doctors to the Tower, but none can determine what he has. Do you have any news on the vampire doctor?" 

"Not really. I suppose that if she comes it will be till night fall."

"The vampire's went home?" asked Starfire. 

"I suppose Caroline did… Mika is asleep in my bedroom."

"Can you wake her up?" wondered Richard. "I have some questions for her…"

"I could wake her up, but you know she can't come out…"

"That won't be a problem…" said Cyborg as he entered the common room. "I upgraded Titan Tower while you guys rested. An advantage of being half machine, I don't need so much sleep."

"Upgraded?" wondered the empath.

"Yeah, I changed the big windows to screen panels; so what you are looking at is a video projection of what is outside. Our windows are a big TV now." explained Cyborg. "So if we are having a vegetarian vampire doctor coming over, I thought she might feel safer this way and focus in helping our green pal."

"With that settled, can you bring Mika over?" requested Nightwing as he turned to Raven.

"Sure… she will be very sleepy though."

"We'll give her a blood bag."

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Raven approached her sleeping girlfriend. It freaked her out how she looked so dead while resting, cold and not breathing; she would have to get used to that again.

"Mika? Baby wake up." she said as she gently moved her.

The vampire smiled sleepily as she answered with a goofy grin: "You called me baby."

Raven's heart melted. "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" asked the vampire sleepily.

"Being so cute and charming."

"But it comes with the job description." whined Mika as she seated on bed, stretching her muscles. She was totally naked and unashamedly showed it off.

"Come on seductress... you have to dress up. Titan's mighty leader is waiting for you in the common room with some questions."

"But it's still daylight; I can't come out. You know that."

"We got that covered, don't worry." reassured the empath as she handed her some black jeans and a t-shirt. "Actually I have some questions for you as well."

"Look I'm sorry about this past month… I said nothing about what was really going on because I didn't mean to worry you Luv."

"I feel a little guilty about that" admitted Raven. "I should have stayed with you; they wouldn't have been able to take you."

"You would have made things worse." stated Mika. "But everything is alright now. So don't worry, I'm here."

"Good… but that's not what I wanted to ask you about."

"What is it then?" inquired the brunette.

"Mika, what exactly happened that night? The one you caught the kidnappers…"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"You know what I mean… please… the truth… did you really intended to save those families in the truck and that's why you chased after them?" asked Raven with pleading eyes.

"No…" admitted the vampire as she lowered her head.

"What happened exactly?" inquired Raven with disappointment.

"I… I was pissed off! He almost threw me off the road!"

"You were pissed off for his bad driving so you attacked him?" accused the Titan scandalized.

"No… I was pissed off because Richard said I am a slob… and greedy… and selfish… and totally unworthy of dating a super heroine… and he is probably right… And I lost it. The beast got out." justified the vampire ashamed and defeated.

"The beast?"

"The equivalent to red, four-eyed Raven." explained Mika "That night your demon wasn't the only one running loose."

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't mean to… you were so proud of me! I just didn't want to disappoint you."

Raven sighed. She was feeling heartbroken, but she could still sympathize with her girlfriend's predicament. "Mika you don't have to lie to make me proud of you; or to get me in bed. I thought we had agreed on being honest with each other."

"I know… I screwed up bad." groaned the vampire crestfallen. "I was planning to tell you, but they came for me and there was no longer time for that."

Raven stood up and began pacing back and forth restless. She didn't exactly know how to proceed. "Why didn't you kill them?"

"Why? Because I don't kill people!" defended the vampire. "Raven I'm not exactly an angel, but I don't do that!"

"I've seen you kill people…"

"What!?" asked Mika dumbfounded.

"Or maybe it was your sister. I don't know." explained the empath. "I've been having these dreams, these nightmares, ever since I drank your blood…That's actually how I found Caroline, I saw her in my dreams hunting at the Vampire bar."

"How is that possible?"

"Am an empath… maybe I picked up your connection to your twin; I don't know." answered the Titan confused as well.

"Caroline likes to hunt, but she doesn't kill them…" defended her sister. "She's a very loving person. She's actually usually very loving with her food if you know what I mean."

"That's...disturbing." admitted Rae. "But I think I've also seen you…"

"I haven't killed anyone Raven, I swear!" exclaimed Mika a little panicky.

"Memories then… You have killed people before, haven't you?"

"Yes… a long time ago…" acknowledged Mika.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I don't want to be a monster anymore…" Mika sounded hurt. "Because I don't want to destroy what I love anymore… although I'm not making such a good job at that as it is. But you do understand what it is like, don't you?"

"I'm not sure how to take that, actually. There might be a demon inside of me, but I've never killed anyone intentionally."

The vampire stood up agitated as she tried to justify her actions. "Look, I cannot undo what I've done. And all of those deaths are weighing down on my conscience. But believe me when I tell you that I only hunted other predators."

The Titan blinked, remembering the scenes she had dreamed of; she had indeed only seen abusive man, but that didn't justify their deaths. Still, she wasn't exactly horrified by it… Maybe it was her demonic side. Then a bizarre idea crossed her mind. "Like… Edward Cullen?"

"If you say that again I'll bite you."

Raven laughed at her girlfriends scowl. She hated Twilight references. But after laughing it off, a long, uncomfortable silence followed.

Mika cleared her throat. "I thought Nightwing was waiting for us…"

"Yeah, let's go."

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They arrived at the common room as the Titan's waited for them. The windows were blackened out and the lights dimmed; which the vampire appreciated since her eyes were very sensitive at the moment.

"The sleeping beauty finally woke up…"

"Thanks, I didn't know you found me so beautiful."

"Actually you look like shit." remarked Nightwing.

"Well I'm not usually up at this hour bird brain." responded Mika.

"Ok you guys, enough with the love. Let's get to business." interrupted Cyborg.

The vampire sat lazily in the couch. "Yes… what exactly is it that you need me for?"

"Did you manage to get the doctor to come?" began to question Richard.

"Yes."

"You really think she can help?"

"I don't know…" admitted Mika. "But she has specialized in rare blood diseases. She might find what's wrong with Gar."

Nightwing contemplated her words. "Is she trustworthy?"

"She is a vampire…" snorted Mikaela.

The young hero frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means no; she might blackmail us cold heartedly… but since you are so desperate, she is our best bet."

"I thought your sister said she's your best friend…" recalled Raven with some indignation. Finding out she had a twin sister was a low blow to her thrust issues, and thinking there was somebody out there in the category of best friend just made it worst.

"Best friend might be over stretching it. We get along fine and she owes me one, so she will help. We might need to bribe her with something to keep her mouth shut though." explained Mika grumpily. She could guess what might be going on in her girlfriends mind, but before she could apologize again, Nightwing continued his interrogation.

"It worries me that you consider her untrustworthy only for being a vampire… it makes me think how much we can really trust you…"

"You don't trust me anyway… so why should I hide my people's true nature?" Mika tended to become cynic the more she was attacked.

"Speaking of true natures…" hinted Richard, "I've been meaning to ask you some things, shed some light on your latest heroic act."

"Drop it Richard… I already asked her about that…" interrupted Raven. "She's already come clean to me, so there is no reason to push it."

"So you know the truth? You know that she attacked those men not to save anyone, but because she was hunting? And you condone it?" Nightwing felt betrayed.

"No, I don't condone it. I think what she did was awful…" replied the empath looking at her girlfriend with disappointment. "But I understand why… I know what it is like to have a demon inside of you that sometimes just breaks loose… and I understand the guilt that comes afterwards."

Cyborg and Starfire turned to look at each other awkwardly as Raven and Nightwing faced each other in a glaring contest. 

Their leader sighed loudly before continuing in accusatory tone. "Raven, I know you are half demon, but you have it under control. Mika is totally unpredictable like a loose cannonball, how can you be with someone like that?"

"I think it is very predictable to have someone's demon cut loose when you say they are unworthy of being with the person they love!" spitted the dark Titan.

Dick looked stunned by Raven's outburst.

"Yes! I also know about your little squabble." explained Rae "Mika might not be an angel Richard, but you also have blame to take! I don't ask you to like my girlfriend or even to approve of her… but don't you dare imply you know what's best for me or who is worthy of my affections!"

"I… you are right… am sorry… it was uncalled for." apologized the teen. "It's not a crime to be a slob."

"Hey! He called me a slob again!" yelped Mika offended.

"Well you certainly act the part. If you don't want to be called a slob, get a job or something!" Mika just stared at her girlfriend in utter shock. "Yes, I am still mad at you! Am mad at both of you immature brats; so stop your stupid rivalry already!"

"Raven, girl, give them a rest." jumped in Cyborg "They both have Droopy dog faces right now."

Both the vampire and Nightwing looked like scolded children, with their heads down and shoulders slumped.

"Mika, when will your vampire friend be here?" asked Starfire to break the tension.

"My sister will bring her as soon as the sun goes down."

"Excellent! We have made the proper arrangements so they can stay as long as they need." cheered the metal teen.

"What do you mean?" wondered Mika.

"This!" answered Cyborg as he grabbed a remote and activated the window panels to display the outside.

"Aaaaahh!"Mika panicked and covered her eyes with her hands as she docked for cover behind the couch.

Nightwing tried to muffle his laugh which got a new glare from Raven. She then approached her panicked girlfriend and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "It's ok, look, you are not burning…"

Mika then noticed Raven was right. There was no burning sensation on her skin. She looked at her hands and they were alright. Then she finally ventured to look out the window and noticed the blazing sun over the city. She approached carefully.

"How?"

"Our windows are a big screen now, as if you were looking at the sun through a TV. You cannot be harmed by it, but you are looking at the actual thing." explained Cyborg grinning widely at his newest invention.

Mika remained silent, entranced by the image before her eyes. Bloody tears ran down the vampire's eyes as she stared out the window.

"Are you alright?" asked her girlfriend concerned.

"Yes… it's just that… I had not seen the sun in decades… I had forgotten how beautiful it was… Thank you." she hugged Raven tightly.

"Don't thank me. Thank Cyborg."

She approached the big fellow, they had rarely talked to each other but she liked him. Mika was not good at expressing herself so openly, so she just smiled at him. "Can my sister stay here tonight so we can watch the sunrise together?"

"Yeah… you can have a sleepover if you want." answered Cyborg fondly.

Then the vampire turned again to stand by the window and look outside. Raven marveled out how beautiful she looked and how everything looked more hopeful when things were put out into the light.

_ To be continued… _


	6. Drowning Deep

Mika stared out the window as the sun came down on the horizon, sinking the city in darkness. The bay looked beautiful with the sinking sun on one side and the tall buildings, and city lights on the other. She was so immersed in the view she didn't notice her girlfriend approach.

"I like watching the sunsets…" said Raven.

"It's beautiful… but it's also kind of sad." answered the vampire. "With the safe warmth of the sun gone, the monsters come out to hunt."

"Yes… but without the dark we wouldn't be able to appreciate the light. One cannot exist without the other."

"Are you always this optimistic at nightfall?" wondered Mika.

"Well… it's hard not to when I know it means my love is to come."

They both smiled and looked at each other lovingly. Mika caressed her face and cupped up her chin as she approached to kiss her. Raven's heart began to hammer hard on her chest; she was amazed how she managed to do that every time. But before her girlfriend could seal the kiss, she stopped her by putting a finger over her lips as she blushed deeply.

"We are in the living room." explained the Titan.

"So? There's no one else here."

"What if they come in?"

"Well, if they do, they might learn something…" explained the vampire in a patient tone. "Besides, it's just a kiss. It's not like I'm going to grab your cute ass in the process."

"Well… What if I can't restrain myself and I grab yours?" hinted Raven in a playful mood.

"Vixen!" teased Mika and quickly grabbed her girlfriend and kissed her deeply. They melted into each other; after a month's separation they longed for contact. But their private time didn't last for long.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble."

The lovers broke up the kiss as they heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the elevator. When they turned around there was Caroline, along with a tall redhead in a lab coat. She had an icy stare and a wicked grin. Raven couldn't help feel threatened by the femme fatale standing in their living room.

"I thought it was odd when Caroline brought me to Titans Tower, but now it all makes sense…" said the newcomer. "What did you told our clan leader?"

"Nothing… and I trust it remains that way Katherine, as a personal favor."

The vampire smiled mischievously, obviously plotting the best way to employ the information. She then turned to look at Raven from head to toe before asking. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Right! Ehm Raven, luv, this is Dr. Katherine Kaine." said Mika introducing them. "Kath, this is my girlfriend Raven, of the Titans."

"Nice to meet you Raven. I must admit I'm dying with curiosity as of how that happened considering Mika's always liked to remain low profile…"

"It's a long story."

"I bet it is."

At that moment the door to the bedroom quarters opened and the rest of the team poured out. Nightwing walked in front with both Starfire and Cyborg flanking his sides.

"So she's finally here… Welcome, I'm Nightwing, the leader of this team." greeted the Titan as he extended his hand to give her a handshake. 

"Katherine." answered the vampire accepting gesture, as she quickly analyzed each one of them. "So, to what do I own this unexpected pleasure? I'm sure I wasn't brought here just to get the latest gossip on Mikaela's love life."

"Well no, as interesting as that might be, Mika here told us you are a doctor, and we are in need of one." answered Cyborg.

Katherine turned to look at him quizzically. "I would presume the Titan's would have no problem in getting medical attention from the state."

"We are in need of a very special kind of doctor right now." remarked Nightwing. "Please, follow me."

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They all stood in the medical wing of the Tower watching the vampire doctor check Changeling's vital signs. He was unconscious and breathing through an oxygen mask. The youngest of the Titans looked pale and skinny. His fever had not gone down.

"You are saying this was caused by a vampire bite?" questioned Dr. Katherine.

"Yes."

"That's…"

"Impossible?" helped Mika.

"Unlikely." corrected Katherine. "I would need to run some tests on him and your prisoners, to see if they were carrying any disease."

"We'll get you everything you need to work." offered Cyborg.

"I will also need access to his medical records since birth; and his parents for that matter." requested the doctor. 

"Why do you need so much information on him?" inquired Nightwing suspiciously.

"You kidding right?" mocked the vampire. When the Titan's leader didn't seem to follow her line of thought she rolled her eyes saying: "He is green… that's not a normal person's condition. I need to know what I'm dealing with."

Nightwing sighed, last he needed was another smartass vampire. "Alright; we will need you to sign a confidentiality contract though."

"Fine…" replied Katherine coldly. "Now onto more important matters… how are you planning to pay me?"

"Kath…" chided Mika in a disapproving tone.

"What? I don't care if you are banging one of them. I don't do charity work, you know that." answered the redhead.

"It's ok. Just put a number and we'll get the money." hurried Cyborg.

"Now you see, that might be a problem. I’m not human, my services are not paid in cash."

The Titans all looked at each other confused.

"What is it that you want if it's not money?" inquired Cyborg.

"When one can live for as long as we can, money loses its value. For vampires, for the immortal, the currency we live by are  _ boons _ . Favors we ask to be repaid later." explained Caroline jumping into the conversation.

"That's a very… dangerous coin." their leader did not like the way things were turning out.

"If you want you can choose how to pay me beforehand." offered the vampire trying to ease the situation; but then turned to look at Gar. "I would recommend though, that you think fast."

They all looked at Gar in the hospital bed. It all seemed surreal. The beeping sound of the machine he was hooked up was the only sound in the room. The air felt heavy with expectation. No one dared break the silence.

Nightwing breathed deeply. "Ok, we'll think of a way to repay you. But first tell us if you can actually help our friend."

"I'll only charge if I can save him. That's more than you can ask of any doctor. Do we have a deal then?"

There was a long silence. The Titans considered all the possibilities. Mika did mention she was not completely trustworthy, so they were unsure of how to proceed. At that moment, Gar's heart beat monitor began beeping faster. His body began convulsing. Katherine ran to his side to check on him.

"What's going on?!" demanded Cyborg in panic.

"We are losing him." Katherine took out a syringe and began preparing a formula.

The metallic man looked on the verge of tears. "Can you do something!?"

"Yes." answered the vampire. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we have a deal." finally accepted Nightwing.

"Very well; bring me the defibrillator, now!"

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Cyborg paced back and forth in the living room looking miserable. Starfire floated around hanging alien looking flowers she said were used by her people to repel sickness. Raven meditated near the window chanting her usual mantra, ignoring everybody. Nightwing immersed himself in work in his laptop. Meanwhile, the vampire twins looked quietly at the scene.

Mika finally walked towards the Titan's leader. "Nightwing…" he stopped typing and turned to look at her "Don't you think the Titans should be out patrolling?"

He turned to look at his comrades, and then turned around to face her again. "Our friend is dying…"

"Yes, I know." continued Mika "That's why I think you should go out and patrol. There are monsters loose in the city. You can do nothing here… but you might be able to do something out there."

"Why do you tell me this? Why don't you go to Raven?"

"Because she won't listen to me." the vampire turned to look at her lover. "Not right now. But you are their leader… they have to listen to you."

"Then why don't you do something yourself?" spitted the masked vigilante.

"I can't fight against my own kind."

"Bullshit! You said vampires kill the loose cannonballs. I doubt your vampiric father would oppose you getting rid of the competition." answered the Titan in a sour voice. "What are you hiding? I don't know you so well… but I can tell you are lying to protect yourself from something. What is it?"

"Only the eldest amongst us can call for a blood hunt of the rogues. There is no vampire ruler in Jump City; because there are supposed to be no vampires in Jump City." explained Mika.

"Your sister said something along those lines. Why are there no vampires in Jump City?"

"A city with vigilantes is a dangerous city for us due to our nightly activities. If I expose myself I would have to claim dominion over the city."

"Why don't you? You are egocentric enough to rejoice in the title of ruler." demanded Nightwing. 

"Yes, I am. But that would also open the gates to the vamp population that has kept at bay. The last thing I need is to get myself in vampire politics; especially because politics are handled with blood for my kin." explained the vampire.

"Why did you come here then? Why not stay at your father's state?" inquired the young hero.

"Because I wanted to be left alone." admitted Mika. "I don't hunt; I have not done so for several decades. So there would be no problem for me to live here." 

"You really expect me to believe you haven't hunted in Jump City ever?"

"I haven't gone out to hunt since the 70's, not here, not anywhere…" remarked Mika losing her patience. She really did not want to justify herself, let alone to him.

"You became a flower child in the 70's?" teased the Titan's leader.

"No, she dated one." interrupted her twin sister.

"Caroline!"

"What? Is not like your girlfriend will get jealous of a dead woman." replied the vamp innocently turning to look around. 

Everyone had gathered around Mika and Nightwing; knowing their past history, they wanted to make sure they would not rip each other's throats. Raven just shrugged. It's not like she expected to be Mika's first, although such information thrown out so casually did made her uncomfortable somehow.

"Anyway, I guess we should go out and patrol. You are right, we are not helping Gar here." admitted the Titan's leader.

"Actually… I have a different assignment for you Titans." interrupted Katherine as she entered the room. Everyone turned to look at the doctor.

"How is Gar?" asked Cyborg worriedly noticing she had a somber expression and expecting the worst.

"He is alive... but truthfully, I don't think it's going to be for too long."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Starfire.

"I made some very interesting findings. There is a virus inside of him and your prisoners. It destroys certain brain areas and triggers the most primal functions. In the case of a vampire it would be to hunt and feed. In the case of a living being I guess it would kill it… or turn it into a zombie…"

"Katherine, you have to stop playing horror games." scolded Mika.

"I know it sounds Resident Evil, but it is there." huffed the vampire. "Apparently it's highly contagious through blood exposure. I am going to have to test all of you in order to determine if you are not carrying the same virus from fighting the zombie vampires."

"Yes, of course, we should all be tested right away." immediately conceded Nightwing, worrying about his fellow Titans.

"Is there any way to help Gar?" wondered Cyborg.

"I'm working on a vaccine, but I don't think he will be able to hold it for that long."

"I am a healer… maybe I can help." added Raven. "Maybe I'll be able to prevent further deterioration until you finish."

"Guess it's worth the shot…" answered the doctor in apprehension. 

"Katherine, you look gloomier than usual." noted her friend.

"Mika, this thing is very dangerous… for everyone."

Everyone froze at these words. Dr. Katherine had looked unfazed as Gar convulsed in the brink of death and had taken the opportunity to have them make a very dangerous deal with her; but now she looked worried, uncertain. Fear crawled down their spines realizing they were probably facing a potential Armageddon. 

Finally Nightwing regained control of the situation. "Alright, let's give the doctor all the help she needs."

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Raven asked to be left alone with Garfield. What she was going to do was very delicate and she needed all the space they could give her. The beeping sound of the monitors made her a little edgy, but she breathed in deeply to calm her nerves. She took his hand into hers.

_ He would always make us smile… _ \- commented Raven's melancholic side.

"He will make us smile again Raven. Just focus…" the empath took a deep breath and began chanting "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Raven closed her eyes as she repeated her mantra over and over, until she felt her consciousness leave her body. It was as if she were submerging into a deep, cold pool, with the waves of darkness drifting her to a timeless place.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and she was floating on top of a wooden board no larger than a door in the middle of the ocean. Next to her, was a little green boy; he was cuddled up and shaking.

"Gar?" asked Raven a little surprised by the sight. He looked to be at most 5 years old, so she had probably accessed a long buried memory inside his mind.

"Why didn't I drown?" asked the little boy pulling her back to the scene in front of her.

The empath looked around confused. They were floating in the middle of nowhere. "Gar, what happened?"

"Mommy and daddy are gone… why didn't they take me with them? Why did they leave me behind?"

Raven finally understood she had probably gone to the point where his parents had died in the boat accident in the African coast. She wasn't sure what she was doing there, but he looked so frail and helpless the sight was breaking her heart.

"I want to go with them." said the little green boy looking out to the sea beyond.

"No!" exclaimed the empath horrified. The little boy jumped startled, and his eyes glazed as if about to cry. Raven breathed in deeply to calm herself, and remembered she was here to help him hold on to life for a little longer. "It's not your time yet Gar. You still have a lot to live for."

The little green changeling turned to look at her with big, scared eyes, before asking: "Like what?"

Raven was caught in the turmoil of pain that washed over her, but before she could recover enough to answer back the scene changed. She was standing in an alley in the middle of the night. 

In the distance she could see a pair of thieves loading merchandise from an electronic store into a truck.

_ Where is Gar? _ – asked worriedly a part of her subconscious.

"We are in his mind. He'll probably show up any minute now to stop the criminals from…" she was cut mid sentence by the sight that followed.

Her green friend was probably 8 and he was carrying appliances and loading them into the thieves' truck. He looked frail and scrawny as he carried a big TV in his thin arms.

"Hurry up freak! Those radios are not going to load themselves." barked one of the man as he pointed a gun at the kid, making him walk faster and dive inside the truck's cargo.

"Give the kid a break man; he opened the door without triggering any alarms." defended the other guy. The two men soon began arguing with each other.

Raven teleported inside the truck, and there she found Gar hiding in a corner and holding his hands over his ears, as to drown all sounds. The demoness got by his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Gar, what are you doing here?"

His green emerald eyes shone with unshed tears as he turned to look at her. "I want it all to stop."

The dark Titan couldn't help but think of her little tykes and she hugged him tightly. His pain and desperation was too great to be contained in that small body. She closed her eyes trying to contain the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, but when she opened them again she was no longer holding her little friend.

"What the…"

"And cut!"

She was standing in the middle of a TV set. The intense lights above her blinded her momentarily but then she saw him. Gar was almost the age when she had met him. He was wearing a goofy space suit and was following a script he had on his hands. The scenery looked like something from a space movie.

"You idiot!" yelled the director at him "I don't want a goofy alien for the character of Tork! Stop fooling around and learn your lines already!"

Gar left the set and headed outside. She quickly followed behind him; and approached as he sat in the sidewalk with slumped shoulders and head down.

"I know I've asked you this before, but what are you doing here?" wondered the empath.

"Don't you see? I want to be famous!" exclaimed the green teen perking up. "As a TV star, all the chicks will want to be with me!"

Raven was confused. "I didn't know you had worked at a TV series… when did you become a superhero then?"

"I'm no superhero material." answered Beast Boy with disdain in his tone "My foster parents think I'm a disappointment at that… so I quit."

"And you think you are better off as an actor?" asked Raven bewildered.

"Yeah! As soon as the show airs I'll have millions of girls all over me!"

"So, you are doing this just to get girls to like you?"

"Yeah, I mean, look at me… am green… what girl would want to be with me?" admitted the changeling.

"Gar, looks are not all that matter." commented Raven trying to lift his self esteem, but that only got her a look from the changeling. "Besides, being a hero you can get a lot more attention than that."

"Yeah, but I sucked at that!" retorted the beast man. But then he laughed halfheartedly. "I also suck at this actually… they think I'm too goofy."

"Why do you make so much silly jokes then?"

"If I didn't joke like that all the time, after all that's happened to me, I would probably lose my mind…" answered Garfield in an uncharacteristic serious tone.

Raven then felt the cold, hard truth pierce her heart. After so much time together, living under the same roof, fighting side by side; she finally understood all the pain inside of him. 

She was about to express her feelings when everything changed again. The Titan was standing in a cave. She turned to look again for her friend and he was sitting in the ground in front of a statue… It was Terra.

"Everyone I love, everyone I care about betrays me or dies… or both." sighed the Changeling before Raven could ask anything.

"I care about you, and I love you… all our team does and we have not left and we have not betrayed you."

"Still, sometimes I just make things worse for everyone with my stupid comments. I don't know why you haven't. Sometimes I can't help but wonder why I didn't die instead of my parents." whimpered the teen filled with nostalgia.

"I'm sorry about everything Gar. I'm really sorry, but don't say that. You have done a lot of good since then. You have saved a lot of people. And to keep doing that you have to get well, you have to keep fighting for your life."

He breathed in deeply as he looked at Terra's memorial. "Good thing I never acted on my feelings for you, maybe you would have ended up as a statue as well…" 

"Wait… what?" asked Raven in shock.

"Sorry, it was out of place; especially considering I can't compete with your hot girlfriend."

Raven blushed by his straightforwardness. "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"

"Probably because I'm going to die soon… I didn't want you to remember me only as the guy that made lame jokes at everything."

"… I like your jokes, I think you are funny." Raven grabbed his face in her hands and looked at him warmly. She passed her hand through his hair and smiled at him. "You know, if I were not gay I would actually consider you handsome."

"You are only saying that because you know I'm dying." teased Changeling sourly. 

"No, I'm saying that because I don't want you to. Because I want you to have something to hold on to until we find a cure for you."

He looked at her with sadness in his eyes. He looked so vulnerable, just like the child she saw stranded in the middle of the ocean.

Raven sighed, but then lighted up as an idea came to her mind. "Please Gar… besides, you would hate to miss a double date with me and Mika and her twin sister."

"Mika has a twin sister!?" gasped Gar surprised.

"Yeah, and she's totally straight! You are so going to be drooling over her."

He smiled for the first time since Raven had entered his mind. "Fine… just hurry, this thing is eating at me."

"We'll do everything we can." reassured Raven. She was turning around to leave when he stopped her. 

"Raven…" Changeling took hold of her arm and with the other hand caressed her face. He closed the distance between them and gave her a chaste kiss in the side of her mouth. It was soft and sweet. Raven stood frozen, confused by his boldness.

"Thank you for coming… I can't do this out there, so…"

Raven felt herself drowning in his green eyes. She was sucked into them and she felt herself being pulled away. Suddenly she was looking again at him in the infirmary bed. She had gone back to her own self. They were both alone with only the beeping monitors to irrupt the silence.

"You are going to be alright… just hold on."

She drew closer to him and planted a chaste kiss on the side of his mouth.

_ To be continued… _


	7. Unlikely Allies

"Tell me again why we are doing this together?" asked Mika confused as she walked behind Nightwing.

"Cause Gar is sick, Starfire and Cyborg need to be available to fight off the vampire zombies in case there is another attack, Raven is preventing Gar from dying, and I don't trust your sister… so the only available choice I had was you."

"Richard, does that mean you trust me?"

"No… maybe a little. I don't know. Raven does, so that's good enough for me." finally admitted the Titan. "Now try to keep quiet, we are here."

Both the hero and the vampire looked at a tall building from across the street. It was a heavily guarded place with high tech surveillance.

"We are going to break into Pentex labs?" asked the vampire.

"Yes, I made some research on my computer and pinpointed a location where it was most likely the vampire zombies emerged from considering all factors. This was the most logical choice if anyone was making crazy experiments with a deadly virus. I'll just hack into their security system and we'll be in."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yes… but the end justifies the means. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good." explained Nightwing as he typed away in his T-communicator.

"I'm starting to see a side of you I never imagined you had." mocked Mika lightheartedly.

"Just follow my lead, if I'm right in my theory you will be playing hero for real… and maybe Raven will be proud of you."

"Sounds nice… after-saving-the-world sex will probably be better than plain old regular sex."

"You are disgusting." said Dick disapprovingly.

"What? Don't tell me you don't have that kind of sex with your girlfriend all the time? I mean, you get a lot of chances in your line of work."

"I don't know… a real gentleman has no memory."

"Good thing I'm no gentlemen… I remember every detail vividly." Mika smirked.

"Just be quiet."

The Titan and the vampire broke into Pentex Laboratories. The place looked deserted except for two security guards that paced the first floor. They took them out cold easily, took their keys, and left them in a broom closet.

"It looks like you have experience operating as a thief." pointed out the vampire.

"So do you."

"Where to now?" asked Mika as she changed the subject.

"The elevator."

They got in the elevator and waited for the doors to close. They stumbled upon each other as they both reached for the buttons.

"We should go up to the top floor. The main computer must be there." stated Nightwing.

"We should go down, creepy thing are always hidden in the basement." argued Mika.

"Up."

"Down."

"Up."

"Down."

They pressed the desired buttons at the same time, and when nothing happened they pressed them again repeatedly. They looked at each other menacingly; neither was willing to give in. Richard was a natural leader, but Mika was not a good follower. They kept pushing buttons until they heard something out of the ordinary.

/// OVERIDE CODE CORRECT. ACCESING LABORATORY 07 ///

They looked at each other confused, then the elevator began going down at a rapid pace. The elevator numbers flashed until the number L07 appeared on the screen.

"Told ya all creepy crawlers were hidden down." sassed the vampire.

"Whatever. Let's go."

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"He looks so peaceful now."

Caroline walked into the infirmary. Raven was still there holding Garfield's hand. She was still recuperating from her experience inside his mind.

"What did you do to him?" asked the vampire.

"I healed his mind so he would hold on to life for a little longer. But the doctor still has to hurry, his mind can only hold for so long."

"It would be such a shame if he lets go… He is so strong and handsome; I would have liked to meet him."

Raven turned to look at her confused. She had thought Caroline would be the shallow twin, playing with men and using them as blood bags; but she actually sounded like she cared. "You think he's handsome?"

"Yeah…" admitted Caroline "I mean, he is green and has pointy ears, but he looks kind of dashing. Mika says he's a fun guy too."

They didn't say anything for a moment, just stayed there looking at the wounded hero.

"When he gets better and we stop the vampire-zombie apocalypse, would you like to go on a double date with us?" asked the empath.

"A double date?" Caroline was a little baffled by that question. "He doesn't even know me!"

"He is going to like you… besides; I already promised him I would get him a date with you."

"Ha! What exactly were you doing inside his mind?" inquired the vamp. "You gossiping in there while everyone out here is working their ass out?"

"Speaking of which, where is everyone?" wondered Raven.

"Doc working on a vaccine; Starfire and Cyborg patrolling; and Wonder Boy and my sister playing secret spies… the bastards didn't took me with them." explained Caroline.

"Wait… Mika and Nightwing are together?"

"Yeah… is there something wrong with that?"

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"This is very wrong." said Mika in a scared tone "maybe we should ask for backup."

"Don't be a chicken."

They walked down a dark corridor. Once they got down and the elevator doors closed, everything was left in darkness. They were lighting their way with a flashlight and Mika was walking very close to the superhero.

"I have an odd feeling about this… don't you think it's really dark in here?"

"It's late so no one is working." answered the Titan.

"Yeah, but if we are here under the assumption that this is the right place, and that someone is experimenting on vampires turning them into zombies, wouldn't they be working at night?"

Nightwing stopped in his tracks making Mika stumble on him.

"Ouch, you idiot…"

"Sshhh… something is following us…"

They stopped and the Titan turned off the flashlight. They were left in total darkness. He was right; now that the lights were off she could feel their presence. Mika wondered if he knew she could adjust her sight to see in the dark and if the bat protégée could do so as well.

Suddenly they felt the floor below them vanish and they were falling. They crashed into hard concrete and once on the floor she heard a cracking sound and the pained groan from her companion. Before they could figure out what was going on they were blinded by intense lights and a strange gas filled their nostrils. Nightwing immediately passed out.

Mika did not need to breathe, so after the gas dissipated and she heard footsteps approach them, she faked being unconscious. That's when she saw him, a man she had seen before next to the Titans in pictures Starfire kept in a scrapbook from their adventures. 

He had money and he had power. He was neat, and clean, and always had a warm, fatherly smile. Worst of all, he was a man that had sworn to protect this city from evil and had placed honor medals on the young heroes' necks… he was the Mayor. 

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"They have not checked in." remarked Raven worriedly. "Where the hell did they go?"

"We don't know. Nightwing sent us ahead to patrol until sunrise." answered Cyborg.

"We had no idea they had left together. If we had, we would have stopped them considering how they do not get along." commented Starfire.

"The sun is rising; Mika cannot be outside during daytime." commented the empath worriedly. She was a nervous wreck. Her girlfriend was not good at playing hero; the times she did she had gotten shot, fell of the lighthouse, and got impaled with a metal rod.

Starfire looked back at her with apprehension. She was worried for them too, but she trusted their leader blindly. "I'm sure she'll be alright. She is with the Nightwing."

Raven groaned. "That's what worries me the most."

"Richard and Mika might not get along, but the Nightwing would never allow something bad to happen to her." affirmed the Tamaranean energetically.

"I know… I'm sorry. I'm just a little paranoid right now." said Rae in an apologetic tone to her friend.

"Well, Nightwing's communicator is not working; we have no way to trace them." informed Cyborg as he typed away on the central computer trying to locate their friends.

"Caroline, you said they were playing secret spies. Do you know where?" asked the empath.

"They didn't say, but Nightwing was working on something on his computer before that. Maybe he left the blueprints of where they were going."

Raven opened their leader's laptop but it asked for a password.

"Let me take care of that." said Cyborg "I'll hack into the hard drive and get the information we need."

"You are not going to see private stuff, are you?" asked Starfire shyly.

"Why do I suspect Dick keeps naughty pictures of Star in his computer?" wondered Cyborg making Starfire blush deeply. "Don't worry girl, I'll stay away from the private files."

"Just hurry Vic; I have a bad feeling about it."

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Richard woke up dizzy. Pain spread all over his body numbing his senses. He was confused and disoriented and when he tried to open his eyes the intensity of the lights pierced him. 

After a few minutes of adjustment he finally sat and looked around him. He was in a white, closed space with incandescent lights, like one would see in an operations room. In a corner, in fetal position, was Mika.

He tried to stand up, but that's when he realized the pain came from his leg; it was broken. Nightwing hated fractures; there was the thing of putting them back in place that got his teeth on edge.

"Mika…" he called for her, but she was out. He was going to have to do it himself. So he took a deep breath and clenched his jaw as hard as he could, before forcing the bone to its original position. He muffled the pain as best as he could, but he was left sweating profusely.

After a few minutes the teen hero finally found the strength to crawl to the vampire's side. 

"Mika…" he whispered softly. She was cold and unmoving; and Dick tried to remember if she was always that pale, but her dead like state unnerved him. "Mika… wake up."

She was not responding. He checked for the usual vital signs but there was no breath and no pulse. And even though he knew she was a vampire, fear crawled up his spine. He had dragged her here; she was no superhero and he had dragged her here, wherever here was...

"Dick?"

Nightwing released the air he didn't knew he had been holding in. "Mika you scared me, I thought you were dead."

"I am you idiot... I cannot keep myself awake for long during daylight hours and you just wouldn't rise before that."

"Mika what happened?" asked the masked vigilante.

"Well I have good and bad news. The good one is you where right; this is the place we were looking for. The bad one is we are prisoners and we'll probably become test subjects if we don't get out of here fast."

"Great… sometimes I just hate to be right." huffed the hero.

"They took your utility belt, but I managed to save your staff. They didn't know I do not need to breathe, so they thought I was also unconscious." said the vampire grinning. 

"Good. Mika my leg is broken, I put it back in place but I can’t walk. You are going to have to escape and bring backup."

"Sure, no problem. But how exactly am I going to survive outside you genius? It's daylight!"

Richard groaned. They were screwed. This was one of those times were he wished he had superpowers. He was useless without one leg.

"Dick, maybe I can help you get out of here and bring backup; although you are not going to like the method."

"Anything would be better than to become a zombie in a mad man's experiment." admitted the Titan.

"You really mean that?" asked the vampire insecure.

"Are you retarded? Of course I mean it! Any idea you have for getting out of here will be welcomed."

"Alright… but you are really not going to like it…" warned Mika. "I can heal you… like I did to Raven once."

Nightwing tried to think back to recall any incident where Mika had healed Raven, and when he reached that particular memory his resolution began to dissolve exponentially. "Doesn't that mean…"

"Yeah, it means exactly what you are thinking. Look I'll slit my wrist and you can drink my blood from it… you are going to need a lot to heal that though, so you better swallow fast."

Richard felt his stomach sicken. "You really expect me to drink your blood?"

"You said anything would be better than to become a vampire-zombie in the mayor's army."

"The mayor?" asked Nightwing.

"Yeah, he is behind this. I saw him." confided Mika. 

“That son of a bitch, that’s why he wanted to take our prisoner.” Richard closed his eyes. He meditated the situation for a few minutes and remembered the worried voice of Katherine saying it was a very dangerous situation for everyone. He took deep breaths for a few minutes until he finally gave in. "Alright… I just want to know, will I turn into a vampire when I die?"

"No… It doesn't happen that way." reassured Mika, "But you will acquire some vampiric traits for as long as my blood is in your system."

"Vampiric traits like what?"

"It depends… you might get a little blood thirsty, but nothing you can't handle."

The vigilante’s mind was racing he took another deep breath to calm his rising anxiety. He couldn't back up, not now. Besides, Raven had done it, how hard could it be. "Alright, let's do this."

Mika elongated her fangs and bit on her own wrist. When blood began pouring out she offered it to Richard. His mind screamed for him to stop, that it was crazy. He got near her, but he just couldn't take the last step. The stench of coopery blood invaded his nose and his stomach did a somersault.

Mika saw him hesitate for too long, so she drank the blood running down her wrist to close the wound. She then turned to look at him and he had a sheepish expression on his face, he had chickened out. Unfortunately for him, the vampire would not take that. She was too terrified about becoming a science project to care about his feelings. 

So she stared at him to make him look at her in the eyes, and with her hands she pulled up his mask. He looked very confused by her actions, but when their eyes made direct contact he felt every ounce of willpower abandon his body. She hypnotized him as a cat would a bird before launching for the kill.

Mika grabbed his head with both hands to keep him in place and, after a second of hesitation, she joined her lips to his, pouring the blood she had drank into his mouth. Nightwing finally snapped form the trance and fought her off, throwing her away forcefully. But the metallic taste of blood was already in his mouth and in the struggle he had swallowed it. He felt it burn down his throat and a warm sensation spread through his limbs and every cell of his body. Her blood had left him thirsty… very thirsty.

Neither said anything, Mika just kept staring at him with catlike eyes. She used her long nails to rip the skin in her neck; and when blood poured out the young hero felt his breath catch. He knew it was so wrong, and yet he wanted it so bad...

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"This is really bad."

_ What if Mika is dust right now? What if she is dead, I mean, definitely dead, and our last kiss was not with her? _ – Love was hurting deeply.

_ She is not dead! She's a kick ass vampire, she's gonna be fine! _ – exclaimed Brave.

_ Plus, that doesn't count as a kiss; it was just a friendly "get well" expression of sisterly love.  _

"Everyone be quiet." sentenced the dark Titan as she walked alone down the hall of Titan's Tower.

_ Speaking of which, how are we going to explain "that" to Mika once we find her? _

"She does not need to know the details." 

Raven finally arrived at the communication center to find Starfire, Cyborg and Caroline in there.

"Victor did you find anything?" asked the half demoness in a hurry.

"I think Dick and Mika might have broken into Pentex Labs. According to my research the place specializes on terminal illness and viral pathologies."

"Sounds like a place that might brew up something naughty." pointed out Caroline.

"What I don't like is that the place is high profile. Many researches are sponsored by the government. Even the mayor has invested in the place." highlighted Cy.

"So what are we going to do? Dick's and Mika's lives are in danger."

"Well we can't exactly go barge in looking for them, the place is heavily protected for sanitary reasons. If we screw up we might even go to jail." explained the metal man. "And we can't go knocking on their front door either asking whether they kidnapped our friends and released a deadly virus on the city."

"So what do we do?" asked Starfire.

"We keep an eye on the place and wait for nightfall to break in like Mika and Dick did."

"Sounds like a plan." said Raven gloomily. "I just hope we are not too late."

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“Mika wake up. I finally managed to break the lock. Let's go.”

"I feel very weak, its day outside and you took a lot of my blood." said the vampire sleepily.

"Don't be lazy; we have to get out of here fast before they decide it's time to experiment on us."

"Even if we get out, the sun is in its highest peak right now. You go ahead. Bring the cavalry. I'll wait here."

"No, we don't know if they might infect you with that thing while I'm gone. We are both getting out of here. We'll deal with the sun afterwards."

Nightwing carried her on his back. She was very light and he felt very strong right now. He knew the vampiric blood had something to do with that, so he was going to make good use of it.

They moved down a corridor that had several rooms like the one they had been in. The little window in the door showed they had prisoners in them as well. The young hero's first impulse was to break them free, but Mika seemed to guess his intentions.

"Don't… we don't know if they are human or not…"

"You are right; first we get you to safety and bring the team in, to be sure what we are dealing with."

They moved down the hall until they sensed guards approaching, so they got into the air ducts in the ceiling and crawled to where they heard some noises. They made their way to an open area where scientists were working on different test subjects strapped to lab beds. They all looked dead.

"I think we hit the jackpot." whispered Mika.

They kept moving until they reached a different room. This one had several computers and screens showing DNA sequences. Only one doctor was working there.

"Wait here, I need to gather evidence." whispered Nightwing.

He then jumped down from the air ducts with catlike agility. The lab coat guy in the room didn't even notice what was going on until he was out cold in the floor. The young hero took a memory stick from his desk and began downloading information in it.

When he turned around to check if anyone was coming, Mika was there, feeding from the unconscious man.

"What are you doing?" asked Nightwing horrified.

"It's ok, he's not dead, but I needed it." she said standing up straight. "Don't look at me like that… you know the feeling perfectly well."

Nightwing sighed and went back to the computer. "What are we going to tell Raven?"

"She does not need to know the details." answered the vampire exasperated. "Plus, it's your fault for not having the balls to go with it as we originally agreed on. Anyway, what did you find?"

"Apparently this research is sponsored by the Mayor and other big political figures. They are trying to create a biohazard weapon and apparently they chose Jump City to test its effectiveness against superheroes."

"That's sick… didn't they watch Resident Evil? Those things always backfire." Mika looked shocked. "What I don't understand is how they got hold of vampires to experiment on?"

"It says here: Subject 001 was the key to begin all the research. It was found in hibernation in a cave to the north of here and its blood has the ability to reanimate the dead bodies."

"They found a sleeping vampire in torpor and now they are using him for their greedy purposes." now it was Mika's turn to look horrified. "Human nature is so rotten sometimes…"

"Says the pot to the kettle?"

"Hey! The vampires are the innocent victims here."

"Maybe part of the victims, but not innocent ones." remarked Nightwing. "Your kind handles politics in blood and your 'currency' takes greediness to an all new level."

"Yes, but such greediness does not come from the beast inside; the beast only asks to hunt and be fed… greed, lust, pride, envy, it all comes from the human part still in us; the beast only heightens it. You felt it a moment ago didn't you?"

Richard Grayson said nothing. He continued extracting information from the computer mainframe in silence.

"Thank you."

Richard turned to look at the vampire, unsure if he had heard right.

"Thank you for not leaving me behind." explained Mika.

"It was the least I could do. By the way, thank you for healing me… even if it was in a very unorthodox way."

They smiled at each other for a moment. Then the alarms began to sound all around them. They had found out they were missing…

_ To be continued…  _


	8. Nevermore

It was madness.

The place was in total chaos. People ran around yelling hysterically as they reached for safety. The Titans had been watching the building for any strange occurrences when something in the lower floors exploded setting the building on fire. 

Cyborg, Starfire and Raven soon got in action mode and helped evacuate everyone they could. Many were wounded by the initial explosion and others had passed out from inhaling the fumes and needed to be carried away. The basement floors were filled with smoke and a distinct smell of charred metal and flesh filled the heroes nostrils.

Star and Raven turned to look at each other, fearing the worst for their loved ones. Raven fought her basic instincts to leave everyone and look for Mika, but there were just too many people that needed help, she just could not ignore them. As a Titan she had sworn to protect the people of this city, even at the expense of her own life… even if losing Mika would kill her.

"The building is going to collapse! Everyone get out!" yelled Cyborg from outside.

"Star we have to go!"

"But there are still people trapped downstairs!" yelled the alien horrified.

"I know… but if we stay we might die crushed by the building as well." explained her friend sourly.

"But Nightwing and Mika…"

"I know! But we have to trust they can save themselves."

They ran out of the building as it slowly began to crumble. Raven tried to stop the explosions with her powers so more people would get out alive, but fighting the force of fire was a terrible feat even for her. 

Then they saw it, a vision of hope and desperation: A window in the second floor crashed and through it came Nightwing holding someone close to his chest. They landed hard on the floor and he tried to cover his companion with his body as much as he could. It was Mika.

The vampire screamed in pain as the sun rays scorched her skin. She felt herself dying; an agonizing, painful death that would just not come fast enough. Her senses were numb; all that was left was pain. Mikaela just hoped her soul would not fall into oblivion; that maybe one act of heroism would erase a past of carnage. She hoped to be that lucky, but she knew better.

Then the pain stopped. All that was left was the cold darkness that invaded her senses and she was happy to find comfort in her last moments before she finally left reality.

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Mika opened her eyes to find herself in a very strange forest. The trees were pink, the sky was yellow, and strawberries floated around. "Ok, I definitely died… but I'm not sure if this is heaven or hell."

The vampire heard a playful chuckle by her side. "No silly! You are not dead! Well not like dead dead anyway."

Standing in front of her was Raven, wearing a pink cloak and a big grin. Her girlfriend tackled her to the floor and Mika could feel the ground was as soft as a pillow. She was really confused by everything, but since Raven was kissing her playfully she just couldn't grab her mind around the whole situation.

"I'm so happy to have you here!" exclaimed the cheerful Titan.

"Ok, but where is here? And why are you so… pink?"

"Cause it's my favorite color silly!"

"It is?" asked the vampire, confusion evident in her face. But before her girlfriend could answer they heard a second voice coming from the side.

"Stop monopolizing her! Leave some for Love!"

When Mika turned around she found a second Raven, this one with a purple cloak and a sensuous smile. She grabbed the vampire by her clothes and put her arms around her neck as she kissed her passionately. It was a very different kiss than the ones given by the first Raven. As they separated a little, she felt a second pair of arms hug her from behind and soft lips that began to nibble on her ear playfully.

"Ok… I'm definitely in heaven."

"You are not in heaven luv" said purple Raven after a couple of minutes of kissing her. "But soon I will take you to paradise."

If Mika's heart still worked, it would have skipped a beat. She was sandwiched between her two loves as they were kissing every inch of her body and trying to undress her in the process. At that moment she didn't care where she was or if she was alive or not. She was enjoying the moment.

"Gosh Mika you are so easily tempted! Don't you care to know if whom you are kissing is actually your girlfriend or not?"

The three lovers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the newcomer. It was a third Raven; one with yellow cloak and rimmed glasses.

"Right… you are right!" Mika stood up and separated from the three of them. "Who are you!?"

"'Am Raven!" answered the three in unison.

"Ok, so is this some crazy, sexy dream? 'Cause it sure looks like it."

"Maybe I can explain…" began Wisdom. "You are in Nevermore."

"Nevermore? I am inside an Edgar Allan Poe poem?" asked Mika making Happy chuckle.

"No, that's what we call the physical representation of Raven's mind…" explained Wisdom patiently. "You are inside Raven's mind right now… in order to save you from burning by the rays of sunlight, Raven sent you here. It was the fastest place she could take you to."

"Raven sent me here?" Mika asked confused "I don't get it, who are you then?"

"We are all Raven; well we are aspects of Raven's personality."

"So, this is Raven's mind? I got to say she has a very cheery mind for someone so dark." pointed out the vampire.

"That's because we are in Happy's realm." Wisdom turned to look at the pink emoticlone.

"Happy? Right… And that one is?" wondered Mika.

"Love, and I am Wisdom."

"So when I have caught Raven talking to herself she has actually been talking to you?" asked the vampire finally putting all the pieces together.

"Yes… which actually means we are talking to ourselves."

"Wicked… so, how do I get out of cotton candy land?" Happy chuckled again at her comment.

"To go back to your reality you have to cross the forbidden door." explained Happy jumping around. "But I wouldn't go there if I were you."

"Ok, creepy… Why is it called forbidden?"

"Because we cannot cross it… but you can. It's the way out of here." added Wisdom.

"Ok, so where is this door?"

"Not in this realm, you are going to have to cross Nevermore to get there. I'll draw you a map."

While Wisdom drew the map for Mika the other two emoticlones resumed their kiss fest. The vampire's mind was suddenly taken from the forbidden door to the gutter in record time. "This is taking the meaning of threesome to a whole new level… wanna join Wisdom?"

"Ehm no." answered the emoticlone nonchalantly. "Raven is not going to like it you doing that…"

"Why not? Is not like I'm cheating on her." whined the vampire, obviously taking advantage of the situation.

"Anyway you have to go, before the other emoticlones know that you are here."

"Oh I would like to meet them all!" shrilled the vampire excitedly.

"Mika stop your perverted fantasies." chastised Wisdom. "You have to go. You are not supposed to be here."

"Alright, alright…" the vampire separated from Happy and Love.

"Awww I wanted to take you to my cottage." argued Love.

"Love's cottage sounds really fun…"

"Mikaela focus! Here is the map." Wisdom handed her a piece of parchment "I drew a line for you to follow."

"Alright let's see…" Mika began walking while reading the map; apparently she had to walk a long way. "Hey Wisdom, why do I have to surround the realm with the volcano? Why don't I just go straight through it?"

When Mika raised her sight from the map the scenery had changed. It was as if she was floating in a rock in space. "Wisdom? Happy? Love? Anyone?"

She was totally alone…

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Richard Grayson was lying in a hospital bed next to Garfield. He had severe burns in his arms and legs.

"How is he? Will he be alright?" asked Starfire concerned.

"Yes, he will be fine… actually he's healing at an astonishing fast pace." explained the vampire doctor.

"How is that possible? He has no superpowers." asked Cyborg fearing something wrong with their leader.

"I believe he has vampire blood in his system… but don't worry, he's not infected I already checked." reassured Katherine.

"Just what the hell happened in there?" asked Cyborg.

"Guess we'll find out once he wakes up. In the meantime, the documents he was carrying helped me make a cure for Changeling, his body is reacting well to it; we just have to wait for it to take effect."

"What about my sister? Where is she?" asked Caroline concerned.

"She is safe. I should actually go prepare a portal for her to pass through once she finds her way back. I'll be in my room." explained Raven as she left the infirmary wing in the Titan's Tower.

"So what do we do while we wait?" asked Starfire as she turned to the last remaining Titan.

"We collect more evidence to put the ones responsible for this behind bars. Want to help out Caroline? We are a little short in hands right now."

"Lead the way."

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She kept walking and all she could see were black ravens flying around. Some had several sets of eyes and vicious fangs, so she just stayed as far away from them as possible.

"No wonder they call it Nevermore… this place just turned from nauseatingly sweet to just plain creepy."

"You shouldn't be here…" 

She turned around and there was a shy looking Raven in a gray cloak.

"Hello there Luv!" Mika smiled waiting to be met by another smooch fest. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Yeah, I guess… I was worried about you..."

"Don't I get a kiss then?"

The Gray Raven walked closer to Mika, but before she could even peck her lips she backed away blushing deeply.

"What's wrong Luv?"

"Someone might see us!" yelped the Titan.

"Let me guess… you are Timid?"

The shy emoticlone just nodded hiding her face in her cloak.

"Raven would you show me the way out of here?" asked Mika politely.

"I can… but when we reach the end you are not going to like me."

"Oh come on, we just have to walk in a straight line, right?"

Suddenly, heavy walls began falling around Mika and the maze that was Timid's realm appeared before her.

"Shall I assume that Raven's insecurities are represented by a maze?"

"I am sorry. It's my entire fault…" apologized the most negative side of Raven's persona.

"Don't be so hard on yourself… come on."

Mika grabbed her hand making the Titan blush. The vampire was kind of enjoying seeing Raven so small and fragile. As someone to take care of. After a while, they finally reached the end.

"Look there's the way out!" 

Mika ran to the exit but stopped abruptly as two scary looking statues appeared on her path. Their heads began to spin and their eyes lighted up red. Stone swords appeared on their 4 hands and, as fast as they had appeared, they began to throw beams out of their eyes. The vampire dived for cover. Although she was fast and strong, and could easily take out any thug, she was not trained to take out the supernatural.

Timid appeared by her side on the floor and began whining. "Told ya you wouldn't like me when we reached the end."

But before Mika could answer her, she heard a battle cry and a green robed emoticlone appeared.

"HHHYYYYYAAAA"

With a couple of kicks and punches Brave easily took down the maze guards and the labyrinth disappeared. She then grabbed Mika by the hand and pulled her closer to herself.

"Don't worry baby, I'm here to save you." and then Raven kissed her passionately.

"Wow, you are not shy at all." Mika smiled.

"Well it's a hero's mandatory kiss after saving the damsel in distress…" the green Raven winked at her. "Actually in movies they never show the good part after the kiss…"

"Brave you shouldn't be saying such naughty things…" chastised Timid. "Especially since she has to get out of here before… before… you know…"

"Before what?" asked Mika wondering what could worry the gray Raven like that.

Brave drew her attention back to her though. "Don't worry baby. I'll protect you from everything."

"Protect me from what exactly?"

A loud explosion could be heard in the distance, the volcano Wisdom drew in the map was erupting.

"Crossing that place is the forbidden door isn't it?"

"Yes." confirmed Brave.

"Let's go then." Brave grabbed her hand to stop her.

"I can't follow you though there…"

"Why not?" wondered Mika.

"That place is off limits for me… either we circle around it, or you go through it on your own."

Mika turned to look back to the volcano and wondered why all the emoticlones so far had been worried about that place.

"Who lives there exactly?" she asked as she stepped through the portal leading to the scary, fiery realm, but there was no answer. "Brave? Timid? Guess 'am on my own again…"

Mika made her way down a gravel path, through a deserted land that had a few dried out trees. She couldn't help but think it all looked like something taken from the Lion King. The vampire was getting nearer to the volcano and she had seen no sign of life so far, until a red cloak appeared behind a rock in the volcanic landscape.

"Hey there Luv!"

The figure didn't turn to look at her, it seemed like she was making a big effort trying to ignore Mika.

"You are not going to come say hi like the others?"

As Mika began walking closer to the red hooded figure the hair on the back of her neck began to stand. Something was wrong about this. Then the red Raven finally turned to look at her. She stood frozen in place as 4 gleaming, bright red, glowing eyes pierced through her. The vampire now understood clearly why all the other emoticlones warned her of this place, she had stumbled on Raven's demonic side.

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"Wisdom, where is Mika right now?" asked Raven to herself as she sat down in the floor of her room drawing symbols with white dust. Since the incident with her magic mirror, she no longer had a way of coming and going inside her mind like she used to.

_ According to my reliable sources, she is crossing Rage's realm right now.  _

"What!? Why did you let her go there?"

_ I drew a map for her and told her she shouldn't go there… but you know her. _

"Why did you tell her that? You know she can't resist temptation."

_ Yeah… I noticed… but I trusted she would be smarter than that… my bad. _

"Fine… I'm going in anyway."

Raven finished drawing a pentagram in the floor and positioned herself in the center. She began chanting softly and then finished with her well known mantra.

AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS

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Mika was tied against the wall by dark shadow tendrils. Rage had taken her to the inside of a cave at the foothill of the volcano.

"Hey Luv, what are you doing?" asked Mika a little worried of what was coming her way. "Want to play naughty again? Still rejoicing in our last bondage fun?"

"You consider yourself witty don't you? Didn't I tell you not to tempt my demonic side?" answered Rage in a deep, harsh voice.

"Sorry… you know how my foot loves to live on my mouth. But I promise I won't do that again… can I go now?"

"Do you also promise to stop lying to me to make me love you?" asked the demoness sourly.

"What? I'm not lying about that!" exclaimed her lover outraged.

"No, you just have a tendency of bending and hiding the truth to your advantage."

"I already apologized for that Luv! I thought we were all right now." yelped the vampire afraid off the implications.

"Silly rabbit… trix are for kids… I'm going to make you feel all the pain you have caused me with your lies, and when I'm done with you, you'll never deceive me again… only then, we'll be alright." explained Rage in a threatening tone.

"Wait! I know am a total screw up! But please, you have to understand, it is part of my nature!"

"Good to know that you see it that way… so you must understand THIS is part of MY nature."

"But...!" the vampire could speak no more as a shadow tendril covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming. 

Red Raven approached Mika menacingly, the sorcerer lit up a little flame in the tip of her fingers and with her other hand she ripped a piece of the shirt covering the vamp's stomach.

"I like your belly, so firm and soft. I want it for myself… actually I want all of you for myself… mind if I burn my name in it so no one ever dare touch you?"

A muffled whine was all that escaped Mika's mouth. She could feel the heat of the flame approach her skin and burned of the first layer of her skin. She tried to contain the tears escaping down her eyes everytime the flame touch her. This time she was really scared of what the demoness could do to her. 

But before things escalated further, a voice echoed from the entrance. 

"Stop!" the real Raven appeared at the cave. "Rage, let Mika go."

"Why should I? As I see it I have the upper hand…"

"Don't make me chain you again Rage… the only reason you walk free in your realm is because I understood that we all have a dark side, and with father gone you are just one more of my personalities."

"Freedom is certainly appreciated." admitted Rage.

"But if you threaten my love you'll go back on chains, so release her." warned Raven in an authoritative voice.

"I was not going to hurt her, not much anyway… but she has to learn her place… learn to not toy with her master."

"You speak of her as if she belonged to us…" observed Raven between gritted teeth.

"She does, she is ours… but she still needs to be domesticated." smiled the Red one wickedly.

"Stop referring to her like that…" the Titan was losing her patience.

"Why? Isn't this the way you feel about her? This need to posses, to mark her as ours is in our nature… why deny it?"

Raven walked to where Mika was and ran her fingers down her naked stomach.

"Yes it is in my nature to claim her…" as Raven said this, Mika opened her eyes wide with astonishment. "But it is also in my nature to love her, and nurture her, and guide her, and protect her." 

The dark Titan turned to confront Rage. "She will pay for all the lies, but not like this and not here… just let her go."

The dark tendrils bounding Mika disappeared, and so did Rage. Raven grabbed her girlfriend by the hand and led her quietly outside. They walked in silence until they reached the forbidden door.

"We are here… come on, let's go home."

"Ehm Raven… I'm sorry…"

"I know you are… and I don't need to be an empath to know that, just look at your face." Rae approached Mika and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry too."

They separated and smiled to each other; then crossed the forbidden door hand in hand.

_ To be continued… _


	9. Darkness in Me

Mika walked to Raven's bed in an attempt to throw herself on it. She was so tired; she had barely slept at all in the past 24 hours. In less than a day she had been amazed by watching the sun for the first time in decades, had gone from playing spy to superhero, had shared her blood with her nemesis (a.k.a. Nightwing), had escaped a maximum security lab that brewed vampire-zombies, survived an explosion and sun exposure, and traveled to the strange mindscape of her girlfriend's mind where her demon side tried to claim her by burning her name on her stomach. She just wanted to fall on bed and stay there for a few days.

"Don't even think about it." complained her girlfriend stopping her.

"What?"

"You are all dirty… you have to get a bath first."

"Rae I feel like I'm dying, I haven't slept for more than 24 hours."

"10 more minutes are not going to kill you." pushed the Titan. "Besides, you are already dead."

The empath knew her girlfriend was really very tired, but she was a little obsessive about sleeping dirty. Also, she had promised Rage she would punish her for all her lies. So she dragged her to the bathroom and began undressing her. It was not too hard; considering her clothes were so ripped and burned they fell easily off her.

"Baby what happened exactly down in that lab?"

"It's a long story…" answered the vamp sleepily.

Raven got her in the shower and then jumped in afterwards. She silently helped Mika scrub the dirt off and then soaped her own body. As water fell on her skin Raven's muscles began to relax as well and she finally felt fatigue take over.

"I had not realized I was as tired as well." commented Raven. "I'm sorry to be a little obsessive about you sleeping in my bed dirty."

"That's ok Luv, this is actually nice. I feel like am relaxing with you here. I'm too tired and hungry anyway…"

"You need to feed?"

"Yes, is there any blood bag left in the fridge?"

"I don't think so… Dick threw away the last a few days after you left for Las Vegas."

Mika said nothing after that, she really looked exhausted. Raven worried for her health, she had been exposed to sunlight after all. She hugged her tightly as the warm water ran down their bodies. The Titan moved her girlfriend to position her face in her neck and began petting her hair.

"Drink…" instructed the empath, pushing her closer to her neck.

"What?"

"You are tired and hungry… drink from me."

"What if I can't stop? I'm too tired." complained the vampire.

"I trust you."

After a few minutes of internal debate Mika finally bit her skin. She sucked gently and slowly, savoring her taste. Raven marveled at how wonderful and unifying it felt to have her life force taken in such an intimate manner. Even though the Titan was tired, she was getting aroused by the feeding. 

After a few minutes Mika stopped, and the empath felt lightheaded. They left the shower, dried off, and crawled into bed completely naked.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

With those last words they immediately fell in a deep slumber.

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The Titans and the vampires were sitting on the big couch in the living room. Everyone was there except for Gar who was still recovering. 24 hours had passed since everyone had gone back to the tower safe and sound. They were all better rested and were now waiting for Nightwing's and Mika's input on what had happened that fateful day.

"All I have to say is that it was Dick's fault."

"What!? You were the one who threw a grenade at nitrogen containers!" told Nightwing offended.

To save your ass from the approaching army of zombies!" replied Mika.

"That you released!"

"To prevent you from been riddled with bullets since you were playing superman!"

"Well I was a little crazy with that  _ thing _ in my system!" fought back Richard.

"That  _ thing _ in your system saved us from becoming lab rats after you busted your leg, asshole!"

"Ok… enough you two!" Raven stopped the argument before it escalated any further.

"Wait… You two caused that explosion then?" asked Cyborg horrified "Many people died in that building that day!"

"Actually, many more would have if we hadn't burned everything to the ground." explained the Titan's leader.

"Ok, why don't you guys start at the beginning?" requested Raven.

They turned to look at each other, unsure of where to start. Finally Nightwing took the lead.

"We broke into Pentex and found a secret lab in the under levels. We were captured though. They released a sleeping gas that knocked me unconscious."

"How did you escape?" wondered Starfire.

Mika took the cue and continued the explanation. "When Richard finally woke up we realized that he had broken his leg, and it was day outside, so we were kind of losing hope of escaping with our lives intact. So our only hope of getting help from outside was for me to heal him and hoped he managed to escape to bring in the Titans."

"Mika, how did you cure him?" asked Raven a little uncomfortable.

"I gave him some of my blood..." as Mika said this Raven began fidgeting in her seat. "Does that bother you?"

"Well no, it's just that the whole blood sharing thing is a little intimate."

"I assure you Rae it was not intimate at all! I mean it was really disgusting!" added Nightwing.

"Yeah, I mean… dude you are so not my type."

Richard and Mika unconsciously drew away from each other in the couch. Starfire didn't look very happy and grabbed her boyfriend tightly by the arm.

"Anyway we got out and found our way to where all the information on the project was stored." kept explaining their leader. "We saved the data, and then the alarms began ringing. We thought we had been discovered, but actually there was a biohazard breach in their main lab. The vampire they had originally captured for their experiments broke loose."

"It was a massacre down there!" exclaimed Mika.

"Yeah, and after Mika threw the first grenade yelling  _ I Am Legend _ I knew it was too late to contain the mess."

"That's not funny Dick."

"Anyway it's all over now, the evidence you brought helped us capture the politicians responsible for this mess." added Cyborg. "So I guess all that's left to close this case is for BB to get better."

At that moment Katherine walked into the living room.

"Hey doctor, how is Gar doing? Has he woken up?" asked Nightwing.

"Actually, the vaccine had some unexpected consequences. I think you should all come…"

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The Titans didn't let the doctor explain further as they ran to the infirmary wing. When they got there Gar was not in his bed, but they heard noises coming from the adjoining bathroom.

"Gar, are you there little dude?"

When the door opened and he came out, everyone was in shock at what they saw. Standing in front of them was a blond, green eyed boy with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

"Dude! Where did you get this doctor? She made me look normal again, plus I get to keep my powers!" 

"Garfield?"

"Yeah! It's me!"

All his teammates surrounded him and began chattering at once telling their recovered friend all that had happened while he was unconscious. They laughed and hugged him. The 3 vampires stayed behind looking at the scene.

"I'm going to charge extra for this." whispered Katherine to her friend.

"You are such a vampire Kath…"

After a few minutes of celebration, Richard finally separated from his friends and walked to the vampires.

"Thank you doctor." he said smiling.

"Don't thank me until you get my receipt Nightwing."

"Yes, about that. Can you give us some ideas on how we might be able to repay you without compromising our integrity?"

"Well I don't know what you could offer…"

At hearing this everyone got quiet. Garfield didn't really know what they were talking about but it sounded serious, so he refrained from making any smart remarks. He was not aware that in order to save him their friends had made a pact with the devil, so to speak.

"I actually thought of how the Titans might repay you… you would be highly benefited… and they would gladly do so…" Mika broke the silence.

"I'm listening."

"They could sponsor your research, and their image will be an amazing promotional asset."

"What research?" asked Raven.

"Katherine is developing a synthetic blood that could substitute actual blood, so vampires won't have to hunt anymore."

"That's not only intended for our feeding needs…" interrupted the vamp. "It will actually mean a medical advancement so blood transfusions will be more effective and safer, and some blood diseases might even be eradicated."

"That sounds amazing." marveled Starfire. "Why would you do research on that?"

"A blood healthy population means a healthier vamp population. We cannot get sick, but we can be bearers of disease that can kill our sustenance." explained Katherine. "Plus, synthetic blood would also eliminate our hunting needs as Mika said."

"Is that why they say you are a vegetarian?" wondered Changeling.

"A vegetarian?" Kath looked baffled at first but quickly recovered. "Well I guess for us it would be the tofu version of blood, so you could say I preach veganism. I actually see it more like being civilized; like been able to buy food at a supermarket instead of taking a bow and arrow to hunt down the mammoth… hunting it's so barbaric."

"I like it barbaric." commented Caroline to her sister.

"That's why dad sent you to live at a convent when you where 13."

Everyone decided to ignore the twins' comments as Nightwing approached Katherine and extended his hand. "Your research sounds like something we all might benefit from. Make us a proposal, we'll analyze it, and if everything is in order we'll have a deal."

The vampire took his hand and shook it. "Sounds like I'll be changing my residence to Jump City then."

"We'll be glad to have you nearby."

"Yeah in case another one of us goes comatose." added Gar "Wait, now that I think about it, we had a zompire invasion and I missed it! Aww Man!"

"Don't worry Gar, next time I'll go comatose and you can risk your life to save me…" said Raven sarcastically punching his arm for his stupid comment.

Everyone laughed and it seemed that things would go back to normal in no time.

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The three vampires were overlooking the city in the terrace of Mika's new apartment. A week had passed and the new residents of Jump City had smoothly blended in the city's nightlife.

"It's a fine night to party!" cheered Caroline "Wanna join us Katherine?"

"Not in this lifetime." answered the doctor mockingly. "Anyway, am heading to Las Vegas tonight. But you'll see me soon."

"Katherine…"

"Yes… I know Mika, don't worry." she turned to look at the brunette and made a  _ my-lips-are-sealed  _ gesture. 

Mika nodded at this and with that Katherine left. The twins remained silent for a while.

"How exactly are you going to explain this to Raven?"

"She doesn't need to know this…" answered Mika nonchalantly.

"Didn't you say that one side of her was totally pissed at you for lying to her?"

"I'm not lying to her." defended the vampire.

"No, you are just hiding the truth and bending it to your advantage." replied her twin.

"Look, I didn't want this… I just wanted to be left alone. But with you and Katherine in town we are going to need a regent… and I am the most logical choice to ensure our safety."

"Whatever… I know you just love the idea…" Caroline seemed amused. "Tell me, what title are you going to claim?"

"I like the title of Prince… its classical, its…"

"Machiavellian?"

"Caroline you make it all sound so wrong, so twisted."

"Why hide your true nature Mika?” replied her sister. “Subterfuge comes natural to you. What I don't understand is why you keep lying to yourself about it. Why don't you just admit that you rejoice in claiming the title of Vampire Prince of Jump City? That you rejoice in the thrill of the hunt and that you rejoice in the power you have gained over the Titans by sharing your blood with their leader?"

"Because I don't want to be that way anymore! I don't want to be a villain!" yelled Mika finally losing her patience.

"But you can't be a hero either…" replied Caroline in a calm and serious tone.

“I can try..." answered her infuriated sister. "If Raven can handle her demonic side, why can't I?"

"Fine! Be that way my Prince." spitted the spunky twin. "I'm going out to hunt before we meet the Titans at the club… care to join me?"

"No. I don't do that."

"Whatever. Want to eat from yucky blood bags all your unlife is your choice. See you later."

Mika grabbed her hand to stop her. "Sis be careful, the Titan's we'll be patrolling Bay side area tonight before they head to the club. Go somewhere else."

Caroline smiled. "See… it has its perks to have a Prince with good connections."

Caroline kissed her goodbye and headed out. Mika just stared at the door after she left. She had this dread feeling in the pit of her stomach. The vampire wished it all to go away but she knew it wouldn't. She had opened Pandora's box and there was no coming back from that.

"What have I done?"

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"You think they are already here?" asked Garfield with innocence.

"Most likely considering all the time it took you to be ready? What were you doing? Waxing your legs?"

"Very funny Raven. You can't blame me for being nervous; it's the first date I have looking like this, and with a wicked hot girl to top it." answered Garfield. "And you can't say she's not hot, she looks just like your girlfriend."

"Can't argue with that. Thank Azar they have different hairstyles."

Garfield Logan and Rachel Roth walked into  _ The Hype _ , the gay bar where they had agreed to meet their dates. When Raven had questioned Gar on why he had not objected on the choice of place; he just said it was cool, that way Caroline wouldn't be looking at any other guy.

Her friend actually thought he was putting a big effort on tonight's date. They had actually changed their plans several times before they finally agreed on what to do that night. Gar had proposed to go have dinner at a nice quiet place, so he could meet her better, but then remembered the vampires wouldn't be able to eat anything there. Finally they thought letting off steam in the dance floor would be a nice icebreaker; Caroline did like to party.

As they walked into the place they began searching for the twins. They were not difficult to spot as vampires had no problem in dragging the attention of unsuspecting victims to themselves. 

They were dancing together. Had it not been that they were in a gay bar, they would have had dozens of horny boys around them. Good to know that lesbians were a little bit more discreet. 

Rachel and Gar stood hypnotized by their sensuous movements for a while until Raven finally took control of herself again.

"Gar, watch your step, you might slip with the puddle of drool you left by your feet."

"Gosh Rae you have to admit that separated they are hot, but together they are anyone's threesome fantasy."

_ No wonder Mika was so excited when she saw several of us together! _ – a voice inside of Raven yelped.

"Shut up."

She pushed Gar to where the girls were dancing until they saw them and left the dance floor to go meet them. As soon as they greeted each other Caroline took Gar by the hand and pulled him back to the dance floor. The two lovers preferred to go seat by the bar where they had first met.

"Good thing you got here. Caroline didn't take No for an answer; and am not such a great dancer."

"Thank Azar you are not a great dancer, or else you two would have straightened up every gay guy in this room."

"That hot was it?" Mika chuckled. "Having some perverted threesome fantasy now?"

"I'm not like you." said Raven as she punched her slightly in the arm "Besides, I don't think I could share you with anyone."

"Yes, I remember you don't like sharing… you like claiming."

"Sorry you had to meet my dark side like that."

"That's ok. I have a dark side too."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them until Mika finally took the courage to speak up.

"Want to get out of here Luv?"

"What about Gar and Caroline?" asked the Titan worried about ditching her friend.

"Oh just look at them, 2 more songs dancing like that and they'll be looking for a room in no time. They don't need us anymore."

"Alright, let's go."

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They walked to the lighthouse; the place where they had learned the truth about each other. It seemed like a fitting choice considering the circumstances.

They climbed the creaky staircase and sat at the bench to look out at the amazing view of the giant T.

"Ok, why do you look so gloomy Luv?" asked Mika finally breaking the silence.

"Mika are we ever going to be completely honest with each other?"

"Do you mean to ask if I'm ever going to be completely honest with you?"

"I didn't mean it that way…" apologized Rae. "I mean, there are things about me you don't know either. I just feel like we get so caught up in our passion that we miss to share the important things."

"Important things?" wondered Mika.

"Yeah, I mean I haven't even introduced you to my kids yet."

"Your kids? You have kids?" asked the vampire shocked.

"Relax, I didn't give birth to them." chuckled Raven trying to ease her girlfriend's discomfort. "They are these three super powered orphans I kind of adopted. Sometimes I go and visit them to the monastery where they are kept safe from evil until they are old enough to protect themselves. Is not like they consider me their mother or anything, but I kind of like to think they are mine."

"I think I'm a little more scared about your possessive tendencies than of your maternal instincts." sassed Mika with a wink in her eyes. "I'm surprised though, I didn't meet that part of you when I visited Nevermore."

"Well, Love was kind of busy with the more lustful part of love at that time." 

"Yeah, I kind of noticed."

"So, do you want to meet them?" asked Raven hopefully.

"Yeah, I like kids. At least that's one less thing to worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, you know, in case we want to have a family we don't have to worry about how we are going to achieve that with us being lesbians. So you see; that's one less thing to worry about." explained Mika. "The interesting thing will be how you are going to introduce me to them, considering I'm a…"

"Vampire?"

"I was going to say a girl. But I guess mommy dating a vampire could be traumatizing as well…"

"Well I'll just tell them you are a friend so far. Although, I don't think our untraditional lifestyle will affect them, it's better if they learn about diversity at a younger age."

Mika smiled lovingly. She seemed to be actually imagining the scene, of meeting them and becoming their "foster mother".

"Mika you would really like to have a family with me one day?"

"Yeah, sounds nice." she said it without a second thought surprising Raven.

A warm, but frightening feeling took hold of the empath. She had been afraid Mika did not consider their relationship serious enough to confide in her, and now she worried it might be a little bit too serious and that's why she was so careful around her. "I never took you for the family type."

"I guess you are right about us not sharing the important things." commented the vampire. "I got to be honest it's kind of scary talking about kids, and family. It makes us think about how serious our relationship really is, especially if you consider all we ever do is have sex."

"You are right about the scary part, but I don't think our relationship is based on sex. Sometimes we go to the movies; the fact that we have sex after that is irrelevant."

That last comment made Mika smile. They looked at each other lovingly and approached to kiss very sweet and slowly. Raven was amazed at how all her insecurities always seemed to melt away whenever Mika kissed her.

The sweet kisses soon escalated in intensity, and before any of them recalled how that had happened, the demoness was straddling Mika's lap in a heavy make out session.

But before clothes began flying around, Raven separated from her lover remembering tonight she didn't want to leave the important stuff to the side in favor of sex. "Ok, I told you something I had been hiding from you. So it's your turn to share."

"My turn to share? I thought we had begun sharing in a different language that words could not express."

"Yeah, even though the idea of sex in the lighthouse is not so unappealing… there's actually something I want to ask you about…"

"Alright, ask away." encouraged the vampire.

"What’s up with the red head?" asked Raven in an almost demanding tone.

"The red head?" asked the vamp confused. "Oh! Rae, I can assure you there is nothing going on between Katherine and me!"

"Not that red head!" Raven almost laughs at the mortified expression on her girlfriend's face. She didn't mean to imply that Mika was cheating on her with the doctor, but that's probably the only way that question could have sounded to her. She was going to have to elaborate on her dreams. "In one of my dreams, you were running up a hill to catch up with a red head. It seemed like you cared deeply for her. But before you could reach her, the sun came up…"

"You saw that in one of your dreams?" the vampire's expression betrayed pain and confusion. Raven suddenly felt guilty for what she was going to ask, and hoped not to sound like a jealous girlfriend. "Was she the flower-child that you dated?"

"…yeah… she was my ex-girlfriend."

"Was?"

"Yeah she died…" responded Mika dryly.

"Caroline had mentioned she was dead… What happened to her?"

"I killed her…"

Raven felt a knot form in her throat, and her heart sank to her stomach. After her confession, Mika refused to look at her and stood up to stare out the horizon.

The empath was assaulted by Mika's emotions. Pain and regret washed over her in waves. And even though she had just confessed something awful, she couldn't help but try to understand. "Was it the beast?"

"Yes…" Mika turned to look at her and a single bloody tear ran down her left cheek.

"Baby I'm sorry I made you recall that. I didn't know. But I'm sure you didn't mean it. You loved her, it was an accident…"

"It was no accident!" interrupted the vampire with evident discomfort. "I don't know if I loved her, but I wanted her. I wanted all of her. So I drank her blood; every single drop until she took her last breath of life…" Mika's voice quivered with emotion. "…and I turned her into a vampire like me."

"I don't understand… then she's not dead, dead? She's still walking around?"

"Oh, she's no longer walking around." corrected Mika in almost a hush. Her throat seemed to hurt from the strain of talking about it. "When I met her she was the kindest, most loving, and caring person I had ever met. She was even vegan; she couldn't bring herself to kill an innocent animal."

The vampire stopped and began pacing around; and even though she was filled with curiosity, Raven waited for Mika to recover enough in order to finish her story. After a while she finally admitted. "I killed that in her. I turned her into a monster like me. After taking her first life under the influence of the beast, she just broke… She couldn't live with it, so she walked right into the sun."

"Mika I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked. I understand why you would have liked to keep that a secret." apologized the empath. She wasn't used to feeling any kind of emotion coming from her dead girlfriend, and this spur of raw pain was stabbing at her heart.

"That's ok. It was a long time ago… Still hurts… Anyway I promised to be more honest with you, and I intend to keep my promise. So if you want to ask anything I'll try to respond as honestly as I can."

"Thank you. It means a lot to me."

Mika embraced Raven tightly. They remained like that for several minutes, until the vampire regained her composure.

"Luv?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I spend the day at your place?" asked the vampire sheepishly.

"Want to see the sunrise again in the living room?"

"It's more about my sister… there's actually something more I have to tell you about." added Mika fidgeting in her place.

"Ok, I'm all ears."

"Caroline is living with me now. That's why I decided to move to bigger place."

"I figured that one out." admitted the empath. After being apart for several years, she figured the twins would like to reconnect. Although it was still a mystery why they had separated in the first place; that was another meaningful conversation for another time. "That doesn't explain why the sudden urge to stay at my place today."

"Well, by the looks of it she will probably end up taking Gar there tonight. And I really don't want to be around if that happens. I promise I won't disturb your daily meditation."

"Sure, you can stay with me every time you like. But why don't you want to go back to your place with Caroline and Gar there? Don't you have separate rooms?"

"Yeah, but those two are probably beasts in bed; and I don't want to hear anything funny. I mean, she's my sister; it would be like imagining you kissing Gar." quipped in the vampire mortified.

"Yeah I suppose that would be a disturbing image." Raven got a little uncomfortable about Mika's last comment; after all, she hadn't told her about her little adventure in Garfield's mind. So she preferred to change the subject, they'd had enough honesty for one night…

"Is that all you had to tell me?" asked Raven sensing something else was up.

"Yeah… what else could I be hiding from you?"

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Raven opened her eyes from meditation and she found herself in a huge library. She needed time to think and with Mika in her room she preferred to go to Nevermore to clear her head.

"You know she's hiding something."

"Yes I know…" answered Raven.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"No. She is entitled to her secrets as I am to mine."

"Liar."

"What are you doing here anyway? This is not your realm." the Titan demanded. She crossed her arms waiting for Rage to explain her unrequited presence.

"Sometimes I come to visit Wisdom… sometimes Rage is not unjustified, sometimes it has a valid source…" answered the red hooded figure to the empath.

"Where is Wisdom?" she asked looking for the yellow Raven, as she appeared to be nowhere near.

"I think Love and Happy have her with them? They love to take her glasses so she cannot see clearly. No wonder you've been having so much emotional outbursts, we both know they are not good for you."

"I came here to see things with clarity." said the empath annoyed.

"I can lend you my eyes if you want… I have 4 of them."

"Actually… maybe you can help me sort some things out." thought Raven aloud "Are you the reason I'm attracted to Mika? Am I attracted to her dark side?"

"As much as I would like to take credit for our choice of partner, the answer is no. Happy, Brave and Love are responsible for that little scheme."

"That's what I imagined… Thank you…" she turned around and headed for the exit.

"You are leaving already?"

"Yes, I have the answer I was looking for. I do not like the darkness in Mika. I understand it like my own darkness, but that's not what I like."

"Why is it that you want her then?" asked Rage with curiosity.

"What I like of her is her love for me: her goofy smile when she wakes up, her hopeful eyes that we might have a future together, her bravery against evil that sometimes manifest in stupid acts of heroism, the way she likes to make me smile, and the passion she stamps on every kiss. That's why I love her."

"Will you continue to love her even if she betrays your thrust again?" questioned her demon self.

"That I don't know… we'll see… maybe she'll come clean to me."

And with that Raven left Nevermore.

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When Raven opened her eyes from meditation Mika was sitting in front of her in the living room in lotus position. She was trying to meditate apparently.

"Mika, what are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry did I bother you?" apologized the vamp.

"No. Were you trying to meditate?"

"Yeah, I was thinking that maybe it might help me with my own darkness, as it helps you with yours."

"I guess it won't hurt for you to try." Raven smiled as she said this.

"Hey Luv, I've been thinking about our last conversation and about the promise I made you…" Mika lowered her head refusing to look at her directly in the eyes "I have to admit I am hiding a lot of things from you, and I feel really bad 'cause I love you so much. That's why I don't want to lie about it, but I hope you understand that I cannot tell you most of them; not now anyway."

There was a long silence between them. Raven seemed to be meditating her words.

"Are you going to break up with me?" asked Mika fearing the worst.

"No. I'm glad you are honest enough to admit that you have your secrets. I just hope one day you'll trust me enough to share them. I have to admit I have hidden many things from you as well, because am afraid that this darkness inside of me is what draws me to you. But you know what, I'm not afraid of the dark anymore. Are you afraid of my darkness?"

"Well, your demonic side made it perfectly clear that I should… but I thrust you, and I thrust you will always come and rescue me from your darkness and, hopefully, also from my own."

They looked at each other lovingly and kissed sweetly. They turned to look at the big window to see the sun setting down. They sat side by side waiting for the sun to extinguish and darkness to take over. They knew demons appeared in the shadows, inside and outside, but they were not afraid anymore. As long as they were together, they could conquer darkness and maybe shine in it a little light of their love.

_ The End… for now… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this fic. Please read and review; it'll help me become a better writter.


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